What’cha Workin’ on Wednesday ~When Great Grandma’s Garden is Ready for Harvest

A favorite meal at our house is Italian Spaghetti.

Making our own sauce is labor intensive, but so worth it!

Great Grandma loves her Garden,

however it requires the work of the whole family.

On Monday, I came home with a box of ripe tomatoes.

Aren’t they beautiful?!

The pepper is from her garden too.

Blanching and peeling the tomatoes goes much faster

if there are two people in the kitchen.

I took charge of the boiling step...

...and after their ice water plunge, hubby handled the peeling.

We used both red and yellow tomatoes.

We filled our 20 quart stockpot,

and simmered them for a couple of hours.

Since hubby is not fond of big chunks of tomato,

I ran small batches through my blender to make a smoother sauce.

On the second day, I add the rest of the vegetables...

...and the browned meats.

It simmers for hours.

The house smells sooo good!

We package it for the freezer in portions that are

Perfect for these Empty Nesters.

Of course, we have to sample it right away

with fresh Parmesan Cheese and a Green Salad.

This fun pasta shape was a part of a gift

from our daughter and son-in-law.

Thank you!

Take care,

~Natalie

Sunday Funday ~How Does Your Amaryllis Grow?

What’s a perfect Christmas Gift for Empty Nesters

that are trying to downsize their possessions?

The answer...a flowering plant.

It has been fun to nurture and watch this beauty grow

in this frigid winter weather in the Dakotas.

The Fed Ex delivery arrived in early December.

There were two pots, like this, in a basket, in the box.

I watered it and kept an eye on it for days.

This is how they started at White Flower Farms on the East Coast.

And then, there were sprouts, and then stalks, and then buds.

The tallest was all of a sudden

almost two feet tall!

I started getting little hints as to what color was inside.

Oh, the anticipation...

Now, there’s another bud ready to burst open to share its beauty.

...along with another baby sprout peeking out of the moss.

I’ve never had a green thumb,

so I am pretty proud of myself and

how our Amaryllis is thriving.

The Amaryllis symbolizes a strong, confident, beautiful woman.

The star shaped blossom also symbolizes pride.

Thank you, Bob and Becky, for this bright spot of color

to cheer us up during these cold weeks of January.

Take care,

~Natalie

Looking for the Blog Worthy ~It’s Been Nine Days Since my Last Post

My days have all been the same...

Physical Therapy, House Chores, Crafting

When I haven’t posted to my blog for a while,

I look at my camera to see what photos I’ve taken...

and then, I know where my time has gone.

Most of the photos are of our cat and 

of what we’ve prepared for dinner.

We’ve had plenty of rain here in this neck of the woods.

Our plants out front are thriving!

There have been a few breaks in the wet weather,

enough for Hubby to grill something for dinner.

I graduated from Physical Therapy this week.

We enjoyed some live jazz music at The Ward.

Always a great way to kick off the weekend.

Saturday is Bison Game Day.

This week our Football Food was Super Nachos.

As you know, I like to make our own Taco Seasoning,

so I can limit the amount of salt in my diet.

Aren’t the spice colors pretty?!

OMG, Lizzie, GET DOWN!

I had my back turned while I mixed up the taco seasoning.

I have never seen her do this before...and I hope I never see it again!

So...I saved the Taco Meat, 

and we enjoyed Nachos with all our favorite toppings.

Here’s Lizzie staying calm and watching the game with Scott.

Another weekend highlight was 

a little FaceTime with Amy and Jack.

Hubby has perfected our Sunday Brunch of

Hash Browns

Bacon

Egg and Toast

Then, just like that, the weekend’s over,

 and it’s another week of the same routine.

I hope this finds you all dong well.

Make your life Blog Worthy!

Take care,

~Natalie

Tuesday Tip of the Day ~Saving Clipped Recipes ~Some of my Favorites

You all know that I would rather cook than bake.

I love to look at recipes...and I love to try new recipes.

This Shrimp Pasta Dish is one of our favorite go-to meals, 

when we are short on preparation time.

And this is one of our favorite 

go-to appetizers to serve in the summertime.

It is so easy to prepare that you don’t even need a recipe.

Hubby and I enjoy this Watermelon & Orange Salad, too...

Tastes like summer!

In a previous post, I showed you the new magazines 

that come into our house every month.

As you might guess, it is hard to keep up. 

But, now that I can’t do anything besides sit,

I have been going through my accumulation.

My mother was the Master of clipping and saving

recipes from newspapers and magazines.

But then you have to find a way to manage those...

When I see a recipe I want to save, I take a photo.

These Rosemary-Spice Walnuts look easy and delicious. 

I think they will be a low-carb, high protein snack 

on our tailgating table this fall.

Instead of recipe boxes or binders,

I have started a digital photo album to keep them all in one place.

No worries, I also still have have a collection

of favorite recipes on my Pinterest Page.

We have a little herb garden on our patio...

so maybe you noticed I saved several recipes

to make use of that fresh flavor.

I can’t wait to get back on my feet 

and can spend more time in the kitchen!

Take care,

~Natalie