No a/c makes for a long week

We just got back from our little trip to Kentucky Lake last Thursday and then on Saturday our air conditioner died. We live in the South and the temperature is around 100 degrees right now, I don't want to even guess the heat index. We were walking out the door Saturday afternoon to go to a friend's outdoor birthday party when the a/c quit. I was one HOT mama and not in a cute sexy way! When we got back home to pack our bags and go to my mom's house to stay the night it was hotter inside my house than it was outside.

So off we went with food, clothes, toys and whatever else I could shove in my truck before I passed out from heat exhaustion. Thank goodness my mom has a BIG house and we could dump ourselves and all our stuff in her nice air conditioned house for the weekend. Whatever parts we needed or god forbid a completely new a/c unit wasn't going to be purchased on the weekend. I know this because we own a commercial heating and air service company and I have worked there my whole life. My brother came over Saturday evening and sure enough we needed to replace the ancient antiquated energy sucking piece of.......................oh sorry I was just seeing the $$$$$ signs flash before my eye for a minute there.

Anyway 6 days at mom's house with one kid sleeping in the guest bedroom with me; the other one on air mattress with my hubby in the living room and way too much gas burned driving back and forth to our house while repairs were being made, I am officially, completely exhausted. What a week, certainly not what I had on my "To Do List"

Being displaced, out of our home has really made me appreciated what I have. I missed my little house, my bed, my kitchen and my shower!!!

Yummy lovelies I found last week...

Last weeks posts make me feel a little less guilty for not posting all Summer...

This one is short and sweet:

I 'heart' William Sonoma Outlet and I am fortunate enough that I can visit one ever week (if I like) and of course I like very much. It sits beside a Pottery Barn Outlet and well... I love Pottery Barn stuff but I gasp at even the outlet prices. Guess I just not in the correct income range to appreciate their pricey discounted items.

Back to William Sonoma Outlet. Since about mid-April I have saved my money and bought one good piece of cooking supplies every other week at the outlet. I am very picky about what I get because I have a very small kitchen and I have to utilize ever inch of space. I always wait until items are on sale at the outlet and just like Hobby Lobby they are very good about rotating the sale signs around the store.

Last week I went in to see what treasures I could find and found some yummy summer foods on clearance. Here is what I got:

'Avocado and Tomatillo Salsa with Raosted Garlic and Lime'

'Braswell's Select Seafood collection: Organic Sesame Ginger Marinade'

'William-Sonoma Peach Pocket Pie Filling'

Don't they all just sound so delish?

I got all of these 60% off retail pricing, before discount they added up to $27.45.

I only paid $10.95. Even at that price I still consider it a splurge on fru fru items but for someone that likes to cook as much as I do, little treats like this can really make a girl smile!

And just LOOK at this the Sesame Ginger Marinade is organic!

Score one for mom and I wasn't even trying~

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We just got back from our little vacation on Kentucky Lake. I will be blogging about our trip tonight so check back. If kids behave and go to bed I might just get it posted tonight... wish me luck!

Blueberry Flaxseed Muffins

I love the way this recipe turned out. It really bring out the flavor of the fresh blueberries and they are not too sweet like most fruit muffins The sour cream keeps them soft & moist and the flaxseed gives them a nice nutty flavor too.



Blueberry Flaxseed Muffins

(Makes 24 muffins)

4 cups Flour (All purpose or whole wheat)
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 egg
8oz butter (softened) or shortening (1 cup)
1/2 sour cream (I used organic)
2 cups blueberries



Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside. Mix brown sugar, egg, sour cream and shortening together in a mixer until smooth. Add in the dry ingredients a little at a time to the wet ingredients. Don't not over mix. Gently fold in the blueberries.


Spray two muffin (12 count) pans with non-stick spray or use paper cups. The best way I have found to scoop the muffin mixture into the pan is to use a standard ice cream scoop. It is the perfect amount in each scoop.


Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Check with a toothpick, cook time may vary. Let cool a few minutes before trying to remove the muffins from the pan.

Enjoy!




I have also made mini loaves from this recipe. It will make 12 mini loaves and probably 4 regular size loaves.

...health conscious free range organic people?

I decided about a month ago that I really wanted to phase out junk food and introduce healthy whole grains, organic fruits and vegs. and other health conscious items to my family. I knew the expense for weekly groceries would increase some and decided the best way to watch my budget was buy when items were on sale and buy items I could stockpile at the sale price.

Of course the farmers market has helped and I feel really good about where and who I am buying my fruit & vegs from. I usually spend about $20 a Saturday at the farmers market and we will have one or two fresh items each day through-out the week.

So far we are doing pretty good. Of course you can hear me say, "WOW that is really high" as I walk through Whole Foods and Fresh Market each week. It is amazing to me, some of the healthy/organic items these two stores sale can be found at a big retail grocery store chains for about half, so really check you prices and compare shop. Just because it didn't come from a "health food store" doesn't make it any less healthy.

I will be the first to admit that I LOVE, LOVE walking into Whole Foods and Fresh Market because frankly they smell so good, so clean so NOT the stinky old feet smell you get when walking into most regular grocery stores. But money is tight and we have to budget our food expense weekly. So go get a cute notebook out of the $1.00 bins at Micheal's Craft Store and start taking notes. What stores have the best variety of the items you buy on a regular basis. Take note of price differences, find out who takes coupons and look for store coupons.

An great example of comparing prices is the 3 pack Horizon Organic Singles Milk: at Whole Foods they are $4.68 and at Kroger right now they are $1.99 if you buy 10 participating items in their Summer of Saving deal. If you bought 10 at Whole Foods you would pay $46.80 but if you bought them at Kroger 10 would only cost you $19.99!!

That is a $26.81 difference.

Regular old grocery stores have really come a long way with their healthy food/organic/gluten free/free range/soy base/vegetarian/non dairy aisle.

Sacrifices have to be made to benefit our families and eating healthier and cutting out the beloved white bread, regular cows milk or soda is one I am certainly willing to make. Will we ever be 100% organic, health conscious free range people? No, I seriously doubt it, if you deprive yourself from you favorite foods then you most likely will binge on them when you can't stand the cravings anymore.

Remember the BIGGEST expense is always wasted food. When you forget to use an item and it spoils and has to go into the garbage, you are literally throwing your money away. Plan you weekly meals ahead of time or sit down after your weekly run to the farmers market or store and plan out meals.

Downtown Farmers Market

We have many farmers markets in our city but my all time favorite in the downtown one. It is every Saturday from 7am to 1pm. I have never gotten there at 7am and probably never will~

Just look at the amazing produce I picked up last Saturday. The peaches didn't last through Sunday breakfast. I truly think my 4 year old thinks they are candy. Which is fine with me because he is my picky, picky eater. I''m happy if we can make a day without cookies. So if he loves peaches than I will be buying double next Saturday!

And just look at the size of these green beans one bean would be a serving!

Is there really anything better than fresh yummy tomatoes?

My sister-in-law's family live up in Ripley, Tennessee and if you have never heard of Ripley tomatoes well then you have never lived or visited the south for very long. I am hoping to score a huge box of tomatoes from her family's farm to can this year.

The small pink tomatoes are from Whitton Farms http://www.whittonfarms.com/

They also just opened a little eatery in Memphis called:

The Trolley Stop Market

"The Trolley Stop Market serves breakfast & lunch, and our menu will feature farmers and food artisans from across the MidSouth."

My goal tomorrow is to make it down there for lunch, I have been drooling weekly reading their daily menus on their facebook page.

And the huge yellow tomatoes are from another vendor at the farmers market.

Our local growers and bakers are wonderful people. Growing some of the finest produce & flowers, raising the best animals for meat, and baking the best baked goods around.

And these, these are the best butter roll ever.

Big Ono Bake Shop
116 South Front Street
Memphis, TN 38103-2906
(901) 590-4910

We had them with our homemade blueberry jelly and the next day with homemade blackberry jelly and tonight we had they lightly toasted with .........butter. They went perfect with my meatloaf, twice baked potatoes, sauteed onions and yellow squash & fresh green beans. I really think they would pair wonderfully with anything sweet or savory.

Remember to BUY LOCAL and support your locally food vendors!

2nd week of July

It is so hard to believe that Summer break is already half over. When I was a kid the Summers seems to last forever. The next school year was so far away and the warm summer days under the big sweet gum trees at my parent's house held so many wonderful memories. Making my own herb garden, playing hide and seek with my brother, digging my own swimming pool that was no more than a big mud hole but boy it was mine and I sat in the muddy hole all day, until my dad got home and made me fill it back up with dirt.

I remember having the best lunches outside sitting on the monkey bars; which was actually old airport equipment. It was metal and would fold up or down to make steps and it had wheels on it so we could more it all over the yard. Mom always made tuna salad sandwiches on white bread with a side of pringles and fresh strawberries and always, always served with yummy strawberry koolaid. The kind that would stain your lips for a few days. We never seemed to get too hot or tired and we stayed outside all day until the sun set and the stars shown brightly above.


My brother and I would ride his go-cart for hours, ride our bikes around and around the small cove we lived on, catch lighting bugs in old jars and play in the dirt pile by the driveway. Childhood memories are the best. We never went anywhere, no big vacations to the beach, no summer camps, but we made some great memories just enjoying what we had in our own backyard.

Our 4th of July Weekend

Last week we really hadn't made any plans for the 4th of July weekend because my husband was going to work all weekend and I really didn't want to bring the kids anywhere without him. But we ended up having a really good weekend. First was my uncle's 65th Birthday on Saturday and even though my hubby couldn't be there it was so much fun and the kids had a great time swimming and playing with cousins. The best fun was the baby pool~


Then Saturday night I put Josh in the bath and got busy cleaning the kitchen and completely forgot to turn off his bath water. I must give him credit he did call me a few times and I kept saying "just a minute" Imagine my surprise when I walked in and the water was about 1/2 an inch from becoming a waterfall over the front edge. Of course he loved his pool.





Then Sunday I set up the sprinklers (to water our new sod) and the kids kept sticking their toes in the edge of the spray so I told them to go put on their swimsuits. Their faces were priceless and full of excitement. My hubby got off work at 5pm and I swear he pulled into the drive way at 10 after and usually the trip takes 20 minutes. I grilled hamburgers out and made the best summer pie for dessert. See below:

'Banana Vanilla pudding pie with raspberries'

~simple divine~

Recipe:
2 packages of vanilla pudding

3 cups of Milk

1 cup pureed Cantaloupe

1/2 cup pureed Squash (yes you read that right)

2 bananas

1 8oz container of cool whip

1 cup raspberries

Graham Cracker crust

Mix vanilla pudding, milk, cantaloupe and squash together and set aside. Slice bananas and lay slices in the pie shell until bottom crust in covered. Pour pudding mixture over bananas. Chill for 4 hours. Before serving top with cool whip and garnish with raspberries.

After the kitchen was all cleaned up, the kids were bathed and in their pjs; we surprised them and took an evening drive to find someone shooting fireworks. It is illegal to shoot them in our city even though lots of people do. We don't shoot fireworks because frankly we don't want to make a run to the emergency room with one or both of the kids. We ended up in Germantown, parked the truck in a grocery store parking lot, threw the kids in the back of the truck and enjoyed 20 minutes of beautiful brillant fireworks.

Then Monday the kids and I repeated Sunday's backyard adventures but this time we added a big blow-up pool and made a new pitcher of Strawberry koolaid!


Enjoy the pictures!

Hope everyone had a HAPPY & SAFE 4th!