Foodie Friday

 Hello and Welcome  to My almost regular  Friday post where I share the meals that go onto the Rustic  Dinner Plate

On occasion we do a little what we call Happy Hour Hopping. 

For us it is a budget friendly  way to try new restaurants  . . . 

Never  a disappointment Katie's Seafood was the perfect place to try my very first Lemon Drop Martini.  A week later I am just drooling for another one.  It was lite and fresh and just darn good. 

We decides  to try another restaurant  that has been on the list for awhile.  

So we chose to have the one drink and move on . . . 

Not really  sure what the Cowboy was thinking.  He liked  this almost Milk Shake.  It was O.K. 

As for the 

It was a Shrimp Cocktail that was blah.  It did have decent Shrimp.  But very  little Avacado. 

This was at a $$$$ restaurant.   We sat at the  bar where were able to watch the cooks take frozen thin Steaks out and cook them on the grill. 

Needless to say.  This was our last time at this place. 

Our hoppin followed with super simple meal and a favorite. 

Kielbasa, Fried Potatoes  and Cabbage. 

The Kielbasa was the last from a store brand package  that was waaay too salty.  I cooked it in water that helped draw out the salt.  I added the water to Cabbage and did not add Salt. 

I stopped into the neighborhood  market  by the doctors office for Avacados.  They only had tiny ones. 

But I bought a package of Pork Chops.  They were  good.  But the Cowboy said there wasn't  enough Gravy. 

I am not a good Pan Cake maker but they tasted good.  Both plates were cleaned! 

Gosh I had to enlarge  this pic to see what actually  was!  

Fritters Pie!  Well it was a quick easy meal!

In of my favorite meals all week! 

I have been wanting to make sure his Italian Beef Ragu with Papperadell Pasta.  I loved it.  Cowboy not so much!  The Brown Gravy had was very Tomatoes.  The Cowboy is not a fan Tomatoes. 

The next one of the Cowboys favorites Fried Cod. 

I also made Stuffed Jalapenos 

Oh what a great meal.    The Chicken was perfect. 

I haven't made stuffing this good in a long time.  I am glad there was leftovers. 

And a Nestle Toll Hous pie for the Cowboy. 

Scrambled Eggs a Bacon for breakfast 

Ending the week with Chicken Fried Steak with plenty of Cream Gravy. 

The Cowboy almost licked his plate.

It was a great be week of cooking. 

Kind of ready for bed a dinner out!  

Thanks for stopping in.  Have a great weekend.  

Wordless Wednesday Cruisin'Galveston

 

Tea Time Tuesday A Special Sneak Peek Tea Party

 

Welcome Friends.  Today I have a special treat!  We are becoming party crashers!  

Author Lauren Carr has invited us to be a guest at a  special Tea Party that takes place in her latest book Shadow of Murder . . .

“It’s showtime,” Archie whispered when she saw Marissa pull into the circular drive in her new Mercedes convertible. “Is Gnarly secure? Naomi Howell looked like she was about to have a stroke when she heard a bark while she was going to her table.”

“Gnarly?” Mac replied through the earcom. “I didn’t know we were tasked with dog sitting him in addition to catching a murderer.”

“Mac,” Archie hissed.

“Calm down, Archie,” Dusty said over Mac’s and Tristan’s laughter. “He’s asleep on the sofa.”

As host, Archie welcomed her guests on the walkway leading down to the rose garden at the tip of the point. Forty women had accepted Archie’s invitation to the tea. Small tables of four or six filled the burgundy rose garden on Spencer Point. 

 They had placed a platform and podium at one end, behind which rested the lake.

Spencer Manor had three rose gardens. There was the Hansel and Gretel Rose Garden, where the guest house rested. 

 Consisting of a variety of miniature roses, with each bush hosting a different color, this garden was perfect to accompany the variety of guests who may stay in the small cottage. 

Across the point, rested a courtyard with a bench on which Robin Spencer, and now Archie, would sit in solitude among her heirloom roses.  

Like the different moods of whoever meditated along the shore, the heirloom rose garden comprised a hodgepodge of roses of various colors and sizes. 

The tip of the point was home to Robin Spencer’s elegant burgundy rose garden. The burgundy rose meant unconscious beauty, which was perfect for those who had known the famous author in life. Among the roses, with the various layers of depth, Robin’s burgundy roses signified a depth of passion beyond the traditional red rose. 

To complement the hue of the roses, Archie wore a soft burgundy sleeveless empire waist tea-length dress with a lace bodice. Multiple silky layers made up the skirt. She wore strappy sandals to allow her feet to breathe. 

She pasted a smile on her face when she saw Marissa slip out of the driver’s seat of her Mercedes and turn to regard her. Even from several yards away, she could feel the evil permeate from Marissa Bloomberg or Ivy or Krystle or whoever she was. 

Evil has so many identities.

Thank you Author Lauren Carr for inviting us for Tea and giving us a sneak peek into your New Release! 

 

Available for pre-order 

Click Here

Meet the author 

Click Here

Chocolate Peanut Butter No -Bake Cookies

 

A new recipe to share . . .

Featured in Ink Red Dead and

Provided by 

Author JoAnna Slain Campbell

Kiki Lowenstein rarely has time to bake. In the early books in the series, she doesn’t even have an oven that works. But she loves sweets, and she particularly adores peanut butter and chocolate. If you ask her, Kiki would swear these cookies are healthy because of the oatmeal!

Kiki’s Healthy (?) Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

Ingredients

2 C. granulated sugar

1 stick butter

½ C. milk

1/3 C. baking cocoa

1 C. peanut butter (smooth or chunky)

1 tsp. vanilla

A pinch kosher salt

3 C. oats (uncooked, quick or old-fashioned)

Directions:

Line a baking sheet or plate with waxed paper.

Bring sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa to a boil.

Stir in vanilla and salt until combined.

Add peanut butter until well mixed

Mix in oatmeal

Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper. Chill.

Try very hard not to eat them all in 24 hours.

 

About the book  

On a sweltering day, ace scrapbooker Kiki Lowenstein has to cancel a crafting party when she discovers Marla Lever, their hostess, nearly dead of the heat. Not only is Marla seriously “under the weather,” she’s also a hoarder, and her home is a house of horrors, complete with a corpse in the cooler. Meanwhile, Detective Chad Detweiler works a cold case that involves women disappearing all over St. Louis. The attraction between Kiki and Detweiler heats to a red-hot fever pitch, but will it boil over and leave both of them feeling burned?

Buy the book  

Amazon 

Visit the tour

Visit the Great Escapes Tour click Here

Menu Monday - Baking Day & I Need A Muffin Tin

 Hello Welcome to Menu Moday and a few other things.

Before we get into the Menu.  

I need your help!  When we downsized  and moved to Galveston  Island, Texas 

I just realized that I didn't bring my old Muffin Tins!  I loved those things.  I have had them for like 30 years!  

I have tried to find replacements but the ones now a days aren't  the same.  

I don't want non stick.  I like plain Ole metal ones I can scrub with Comet to get clean.  

These are all I have found.  

All I can find are non stick.  The ones I have bought before  scratch  and rust.  I had 6 muffins.  I wanted to to make 24 at a time so I bought a larger 12.  I hated it.  Threw it in the trash! 

I am wondering  how these  Silicone ones work?   Are they easy to clean?  I would love your thoughts!  

And now here's  the menu I planned on Saturday. 

Saturday

Mexican Chicken Fajita Casserole, Pinto Beans and Salad

Sunday 

Italian Beef Ragu w/Papredella Pasta, Salad and Dinner Rolls

Monday 

Pork Chops, Rice, Fried Okra

Tuesday

Beef Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans

Wednesday 

Bisquick Impossible Cheese Burger Pie, Tossed Salad, Dinner Rolls

Thursday 

Chicken Paprika over Noodles, Salad

 Friday 

C.O.R.N.  (Clean Out Refrigerator Night) a fancy way to say leftovers 

This week I will be doing a double batch of No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies.  

A Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie. 

And these Cookies . . . 

For this 

What a treat! 

And for me a Chocolate Cake! 

I don't eat the others.  All for him. 

I will share my cake. 

Do you share your cake? 

Happy Homemaker in Texas

 

The weather 

Spring Time in Texas.  Gorgeous. 

Everyday it gets to upper 70's.  

As I look out my window 

Birds are building nests in our  bedroom windows.  I can't wait to see the babies! 

Right now I am 

Listening to the birds

Thinking and pondering 

I need to learn to make Biscuits

Homemaking Tips 

Learn to make Biscuits and other Southern foods.  Watch Brenda Gantt videos! 

How I am feeling 

Refreshed and ready for a new eeek

On the breakfast plate 

The Cowboy had to have Jelly on his leftover Biscuit.  Leftover because there not enough Gravy the night before. 

On my reading pile

Available Free right now!  Ends on Sunday. 

And I am reading now

I waited so long for this.  The author of teased me it was coming!  

I got an advance copy but you can preorder on Amazon! 

On my t. v. 

LOL..the sound is off thankfully.  The Cowboy was watching pool. 

Hello Wet Paint 

And he thought going to Horse Shows was like watching wet paint dry! 

On the menu 

Saturday

Mexican Chicken Fajita Casserole, Pinto Beans and Salad

Sunday 

Italian Beef Ragu w/Papredella Pasta, Salad and Dinner Rolls

Monday 

Pork Chops, Rice, Fried Okra

Tuesday

Beef Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans

Wednesday 

Bisquick Impossible Cheese Burger Pie, Tossed Salad, Dinner Rolls

Thursday 

Chicken Paprika over Noodles, Salad

 Friday 

C.O.R.N.  (Clean Out Refrigerator Night) a fancy way to say leftovers.  

A new recipe I tried

Found on Pinterest this looked like a good choice for pre-cooked Chicken.  I adapted a bit.  Here is the recipe.  

From the camera 

Always right beside me or close.

I have a chair by our bed it is where I have been sitting when I have been working on weaving the ends into my Crochet Blanket

Looking around the house 

Flattened and stacked boxes by the front door.  I have one more box the empty.  It mostly Christmas stuff. 

To Do List 

Take boxes to recycle center

Stop at Home Depot for plants 

Grocery for fresh produce and dog food ( I stopped cooking the girls food) 

In the craft basket 

The crochet adding a few rows to last year.   Using the new stitches from this year. 

Scripture/Devo  

Linking with Sandra at her Monday party . . 

 

Have a great week!