It has been a very long time since I've blogged last. But guess what??? I'm BACK! At the end of last summer, I decided to stop blogging...or at least postpone blogging until I was done with my dissertation. Well, you know what? I'm not done with my dissertation but I like blogging. I've missed blogging. I like cooking and writing about my adventures in the kitchen. I like sharing my recipes, triumphs and tribulations in the kitchen. I've missed taking pictures of food and I've missed writing in this arena. So here I am...I am BACK!
Since I haven't written since July (yes, it's been that long!) I thought I'd update you on what's been going on in my kitchen (and life) for the past several months. Jeff and I have made a few major decisions in regards to our life...
The biggest decision is that after 20 years of Active Duty, Jeff is retiring from the Army in September 2012. Due to built up vacation time, he'll stop working at the end of May. That's right around the corner!
I grew up in the house in the upper left hand corner. West Point, Maine
For years and years, we've talked about where we would retire...I'm from Maine, he's from Iowa, and we've lived everywhere in between. So we've decided to stay here in Kansas. This was a hard decision for me to make. I never thought I'd live in Kansas longer than the Army said. The first few years we were here, I couldn't wait to move. And now, Kansas has really grown on me. I actually like it!
I have a new kitchen to cook in and I love my new kitchen! Since we've decided to stay in Kansas, we bought a new house and sold our old house! Our new house is more us. It's bigger, it's open, it's comfortable, it's home. There are kids for Jacob to play with in our neighborhood, we have friendly neighbors and we finally have space for a garden! We're here to stay for a while.
So I look forward to being back in the blogging world. I look forward to writing, cooking and sharing what goes on in my kitchen! And I hope you'll join me for this continued adventure!
Thanks for sticking with me and reading my blog! :)
The Miller Family has been on the road for the past 10 days. Jeff did an awesome job planning our trip. He did all of the research on places to stay and items of interest to see, which made our trip very smooth. On Day 1, we drove up to Iowa for Jeff's 25th High School Reunion pulling our RV.
Class of 1986 Dunlap High School
We stayed in Dunlap, Iowa for a few days and then loaded everything and everyone (including Jeff's parents) into the truck and headed to South Dakota still pulling the RV!
Corn Palace
The Badlands
JP and the Jackalope at Wall Drug
We traveled to Mitchell to see the Corn Palace, then to Wall to see Wall Drug, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site and the Badlands and then stayed 3 nights in Rapid City.
My best girlfriends at Flintstone Village!
From there we went to Sturgis, Deadwood, went in a gold mine and panned for gold, we went to Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Flintstone Village, Reptile Gardens and the Wind Cave.
Mount Rushmore
Dinosaur Park in Rapid City
Wind Cave
Day 8 took us back to Mitchell and then finally we headed back to Dunlap on Day 9. This morning we packed up the Miller family and drove home to Kansas. Whew... It was nice to finally pull into our driveway.
10 days, 2,000+ miles, 3 different campgrounds, lots of good times and laughs~
And, I also got to see my friend Beckie Graham from high school. She was visiting the Black Hills with her family. We got to eat lunch together...it was so great to see her! Hopefully we'll be able to get together a little more often than every 23 years! :)
Beckie and Jen
While on vacation, I like to buy local cookbooks. You know the ones...they are usually spiral bound cookbooks that are put together by some group trying to raise money. I LOVE these cookbooks. To me, they are "real" cooking. Don't get me wrong, I like the fancy cookbooks, too...the glossy pictures, the expensive ingredients, the directions that are pages long and it takes hours to actually cook the recipe. But the spiral bound ones...well... They are full of real recipes that real people make. They're family recipes, recipes that make it to family picnics or get-togethers. Recipes that remind people of good times. Good home cooking. I picked up one of these spiral bound cookbooks in South Dakota.
This cookbook, South Dakota Centennial Cookbook 1889-1989 is awesome! It has a ton of recipes (282 pages) and lots of interesting tidbits about South Dakota's history and heritage. It also has a yummy recipe. Rhubarb Cherry Crisp. I knew it would be perfect to make tonight, since I had raided my father-in-law's rhubarb patch this morning before we left Iowa. And it was perfect. No TLS (Tastes like S***) here. In fact, I got two thumbs up from my boys and was told it was a "make again."
Rhubarb Cherry Crisp (adapted from Faye (Mrs. Kent) Freichs)
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup melted butter
5 cups sliced rhubarb
1 can cherry pie filling
Combine the oatmeal, flours, sugar, brown sugar and salt. Pour the melted butter into the mixture and stir with a fork. The mixture will be crumbly. Spread half of the mixture into a greased 9x13 inch plan. Spread the rhubarb over the crumbs and spoon the cherry pie filling over the rhubarb. Sprinkle the rest of the crumbs on top of the cherry pie filling. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
I met with my Bunco group last night for our monthly get together. It was a night of chit chatting and playing Bunco with friends. Everyone brings a snack to share and last night, I brought some crackers and Cheese Spread. The Cheese Spread is a big hit, and I usually make a double batch.
Kelly, M & R
I first had the Cheese Spread at my sister-in-law, Kelly's house. Her mom had made a big bowl of it and it was so yummy, I just had to have the recipe! I've made a few changes to the recipe that Kelly gave me, but it's still very similar. And yummy!
Kelly's Cheese Spread
8 ounces cream cheese (I use Neufchatel cheese) 2 heaping Tablespoons Cheese Whiz 2 heaping Tablespoons mayo 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 3 Tablespoons sugar 3 Tablespoons Dorthy Lynch or French salad dressing
In a food processor, whirl the ingredients together until well blended. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Serve with assorted crackers.
Yes, the Inlaws are coming to spend the weekend with us. This is a good thing...my inlaws are not the evil, stereotypical inlaws, they are nice and I love them! I was very worried that I'd end up with EVIL inlaws. I was living in Germany, Jeff was in Georgia and we flew to Maine to get married (almost 15 years ago!) I met Jeff's family the day before we got married...Leonard, Helen, brother Steve and sister Julie flew in the day before and Jeff's grandparents drove (from Iowa...it took 5 days of driving for them to get to Maine!) Right before I left Germany, I watched some talk show...Sally Jessy, Oprah, Maury (this was before Maury was all about finding the right baby-daddy) ... anyways, it was about EVIL inlaws. I was afraid I would end up with EVIL inlaws...however that wasn't the case...they're great!
Soooo...with Leonard and Helen coming into town, I have a menu planned for the weekend. I'm trying new recipes (one is in the crock pot now!) as well as tried and true ones.
Friday
BBQ beef sandwiches
veggies/dip
cole slaw
Saturday Breakfast
Amish Breakfast Casserole (new recipe)
Fruit
Saturday Lunch
Eating out
Saturday Dinner or Supper (that's a post for another day)
Grilled Chicken
Grilled veggies and asparagus
Grilled potatoes
Salad
Sunday Breakfast
Fruit
Cinnamon Rolls
Sunday Dinner/Lunch (again, another post for another day)
Baked fish
Boiled potatoes
Green beans or broccoli, I haven't decided
Salad
I'm baking a pan of strawberry/rhubarb crunch for dessert during the weekend
Yumm! Should be a great weekend with great company and great food!
I love cooking, reading cookbooks and experimenting with new recipes! So I thought I'd share my recipes, my adventures in the kitchen, and a little of my craziness called life. Enjoy the recipes and all that comes with it~
