Sheep-Pig and Heater Vent Pets

Hi!

The other day I was reading about a Mangalista.  I had never heard of them before.  The reason this animal caught my interest is the fleece.  I would soo make some uniquie yarn from this little piggy.  Once upon time, I had a farm full of angora bunnies, goats and fine wool sheep.  All the wool I processed myself.  Now, due to allergies, it's something I would just rather read about.



Friday's breakfast was half a yummy ruby red  grapefruit.

And scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese, over an English muffin.

Sophie and went for a walk in the snow after breakfast.  She does not like wearing doggie boots, even if they do help keep her little doggie toes warm.

After our walk, Sophie warmed herself on the heater vent.

 

I think Dustball taught her to do that.

 , 

Often family members ask why it's so cold in the house.  Hmmm, I wonder.  Hehe.
It's only a light dusting out there lately; not really enough snow to go sledding yet.

I brought in a branch I found.  I thought it would make a pretty Valentine tree.  

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

The Three Other Guys I Live With

Burr, mid-January and it's COLD again.  The high today was 25, not too bad.  It was one of those days where I just felt like staying in doors though.  

I started my day off with something I usually don't eat, but really like-- an Egg McMuffin.  No, it's not the real thing from McDonalds.  Rather it is a copycat version using a light whole grain English muffin, low-fat cheese, a poached egg, and turkey sausage.  It was delicious. 

Those Whole Grain Thomas's English Muffins are really yummy.  I had another, in the form of a cheeseburger, for lunch using the George Foreman grill and a turkey patty with cheese.  Instead of catsup, I decided to doctor it up with salsa. 

So, it occurred to me while eating lunch, that I had yet to introduce ya'all to Tommy aka Vanity Smurf.  He is Glady's pet parakeet.  He is a pretty bird and thinks so himself.  His favorite spot is right in front of a mirror; always trying to look at himself.

He's only been with us for a few months now.  By his attitude, I am guessing he is a adolescent, in birdie years.  He seems to be very consumed with himself and tends to backtalk frequently. Hmm.  On the plus side, he now will perch on my hand if it means he can get a better view of himself.  :)

He doesn't seem to mind staying inside his cage, but I like to let him fly.  When he isn't out exploring, he is on the roof of his house visiting with mirror bird.

My sister, Donalea, brought me a cockatiel bird from California back in 1986.  I named him Kep.  He was a very loving bird and part of my life for 6 years until he suddenly became ill and died. He used to say my name every time Mom called me from my bedroom.  He'd repeat, Kris, Kris.  Sometimes he would try to trick me and call me while I was still in my room, but with that Cali accent and all, it never worked. 


Warning:  Before reading any farther, I think it's only fair to mention that this post does contain NUDITY!
 

Ok, you've been warned!

Meet Patrick and SpongeBob no Pants.  These are Troy's pet African Frogs.

They try to eat everything alive that they can manage to fit into there mouths. They have attempted to eat my fingers.  Nope, it doesn't hurt. These are they worms Troy feeds to them:

Gracie brought them as a gift to Troy over this past summer.  When I first seen them, I thought to myself-- they need little swimsuits.  One of these days, Troy is going to come home from school and both of these guys will be in little Barbie swimwear.

As far as pets go, they are pretty easy going.  I mean as long as they are not successful at eating any of my fingers, or any other body parts, we're good.

Sometimes they will each sit inside there own house.  I asked them to do that today, so I could take a pic of it, but they wouldn't cooperate.  They are funny though, the way they use their hands to dig and eat cracks me up. They do it in an extremely rushed fashion, that implies they have something urgent to tend to.  What busy, nude, creatures!

Okay, we now return to our regular G rated blog.  :)

My niece is having twin girls.  Here are the dresses and matching headbands I made for them:

My tribute to Dustball project, that I now have put on hold due to a painful hand, is coming along  well.  I still have outlining and details to add.

Being out of commission, sort of speak, is rough for me because I really like using my hands.  I am taking a break from weight lifting until after I see the doc, per instructions.  Mainly, I am resting my hand as much as possible in hopes that it will heal itself. 

In the meantime, I am attempting to entertain myself by watching the tv series called Twin Peaks. Also, I decorated the house for Valentine's Day.

I lit a candle called First Snow.   I wonder if they make one called 13th snow?

The kids and I found some decorations on the Disney Family website.  I had planned to cut them out, but even operating scissors is too much for my hand.  Jean and Glenn cut them out for us though.

Tonight's supper was grilled chicken, oven roasted fries, and brussel sprouts.   I ate my chicken on-- you guessed it-- an English muffin.  Was today English muffin day or what?

This is the Minnie we assembled:

And the flowers:

I like the way gelatin looks; the way it's all glossy and transparent.  For dessert we had strawberry gelatin parfaits.  I topped gelatin with cottage cheese and pineapple. 

When I was a kid, K-mart had a cafe inside and I got to eat there with Mom and Grandma.  The one thing I remember them having is a display case of fancy puddings and gelatin desserts.  They would have whipped cream piled high with a maraschino cherry on top, pretty as could be.  

Healthy Beef Meatloaf

 Hello, quack quack!

It's so nice to have such a good quacking fan club.  These guys greet me every time I go to the park.  

 And when I got home these two guys greeted me:
 

Well, let's get right down to business and talk about getting fit.  The working out thing is going swell. I have begun to notice my first signs of progress.  I feel stronger.  However, the slimming down part is very hard for me, as I have one major sweet tooth.  Today, I tried Stevia for the first time ever.  I had mixed it with low-fat ricotta cheese and fruit.  I did not like the aftertaste and I missed the true sweet flavor.  Ya know what I mean?  My thoughts were--(since it's derived from a plant, how bad could it be?).  It was bad enough that after trying a small packet I became nauseous.  I think it may be due to the fact that it is highly concentrated, or perhaps something in the way it is processed.  At any rate, Stevia is not for me.  I plan to stick to honey, maple syrup, or sugar from now on.

In effort to slim down, I've been cooking foods with less fat and calories.  Meatloaf has been a hit in this household forever.  I usually make two pans, one with onions, and one without, as not everybody is onion-friendly here.  My usual recipe is loaded with fat and calories.  So, I went on a quest to find a lighter version that was actually still mainly beef.  I didn't find exactly what I wanted, so I made up my own version.  Let me tell ya folk's it is incredible.  It tastes just like my original version. I could not taste a difference.

To begin, I sliced a zucchini.  This is one of the "healthy" ingredients I used to revise the original recipe. 

You will not be able to even taste the zuk if you finely shred it.  I tossed the slices into the food processor and gave it a whirl.  Zucchini is full of water so be sure to drain it very well before proceeding.  If you use a food processor, like I did, then a fine mesh strainer will do the trick.  Otherwise, you can always wring it out in cheesecloth or paper towel.

Next, I whirled an onion and a pint of mushrooms.  It's all these veggies in this meatloaf that make it healthy.

Ever since I can remember, I've had issues when it comes to touching raw meat.  Glenn was happy to help and I was grateful.  I tossed in the typical ingredients, plus the veggies, and he mixed it all up.  He also mixed up my usual recipe meatloaf to compare.

Incidentally, today is also the first day that I am wearing a stabilizer on my thumb/hand.  I have a doc appointment coming up, but basically I think it's cause I'm old and falling apart.  Or possibly repercussions of an auto accident from a few years ago.  Anyways, it's always nice to have help cooking.

                                        Original                                               Healthy

 
I served the meatloaf with the usual fare of mashed tators, gravy and green beans.  The mashed tators were prepared differently than usual as well.  Instead of tossing in the usual stick of butter, I added 1/2 cup of low-fat ricotta cheese.  It was delightful. 

Healthy Beef Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 zucchini shredded and squeezed
• 1 medium onion, shredded or finely minced
• 1 pint of mushrooms, minced
• Dash garlic powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs (I used Panko)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons ketchup or bbq sauce, optional as topping

Preparation:

Combine the ground beef with zuk, onion, mushrooms, garlic powder, egg, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Mix lightly with hands until well combined. Pack into a 9x5- or 8 1/2x4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Pasta with Caramelized Onions, Kale, and Parsnips

Hi There!

This crazy weather we have here in Pendleton, Indiana, where one day it's -12 degrees for the high and less than a week later it's over 40 and all the snow is melting away.  I much prefer the later.  In any case, drastic changes in the weather seem to make people more vulnerable to flu bugs/viruses.  To help boost my family's and my immune system, I cooked up this super rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants dish-- Pasta with Caramelized Onions, Kale, Parsnips.  Plus, I decided to live on the edge a bit and try something I normally wouldn't make.  This dish fit the order perfectly on all counts, and I was extra pleased with the results.

 

 Here's the reason why I almost didn't make this dish.  Parsnips.

I had never tasted of these before in my life.

They were different than what I had expected, as I was told they tasted like a carrot.  For those of you who have yet to taste of them, they may resemble the shape of a carrot, but do not taste like one.  They have a very distinct flavor, of which I am not fond of in and of itself.  However, combined with  garlic, onions, and wine, these magical roots can make a meal SING with yumminess.

Those are the parsnips on the plate in the back, after they have been sauteed in olive oil.  I did not care for them at this point. Oh, I ran out of white wine and used a dash a white wine vinegar.  It's not a good substitute, but since I only used a little it seemed to bring out an even more robust flavor of the wine drenched veggies.

 

I added the kale and thought there is no way all of this kale that it calls for is going into that pan.  Trust me, it does.  After kale is cooked, it shrinks-- considerably.

Atlas, this is what the dish looked like when finished.  I found the recipe in a torn out page of Cooking Light magazine.  I took my second bite of parsnips and they were fabulous.  In fact, they make the dish!!  Without the parsnips the dish would be extremely bland; they add a savory sweetness that is simply incredible.

My family does not consider a meal to be complete unless there is a meat.  Lucky for them, I made a pork tenderloin to go with this meal.  Oddly, we had leftover pork tenderloin; I know!!

  

Since, the original dish was such a hit, I decided to cook up something similar using quinoa in place of pasta, and I tossed in a handful of matchstick carrots.  The thing with quinoa is it needs to be rinsed off first to become void of it's bitter coating.  A fine mesh strainer does the trick.

  

 Here's what the leftover masterpiece looked like:

 

 Sunday, my family and I went swimming at the YMCA in Fort Harrison.

The water was very warm in the leisure pool and felt great on my sore, worked-out muscles. 

We all had a really good time.  The swimming wore us all out.

 Smile-- yeah, I'm taking pics at the pool.

 Not sure what this look that Troy is giving is all about.  Hah.

Eat well, play well!  Ya'all take care.

Pasta with Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Parsnips 

From, Cooking Light Magizine

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 
• 3 cups (1/3-inch) diagonally cut parsnip (about 1 pound)
• 2 1/2 cups sliced onion (about 1 large) 
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine 
• 8 cups trimmed chopped kale (about 3 bunches)
• 1/2 cup organic vegetable broth
• 8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. 1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add parsnip to pan; cook 12 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring occasionally. Place in a large bowl; keep warm.
2. 2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan over medium-low heat. Add onion to pan; cook 20 minutes or until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in thyme and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine; cook 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in kale and broth; cook, covered, 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Uncover; cook 4 minutes or until kale is very tender, stirring occasionally.
3. 3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a sieve over a bowl, reserving 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Add drained pasta to kale mixture. Stir in parsnips, 1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; cook for 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Add remaining 1/4 cup cooking liquid if needed to moisten. Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.