I’m all pics and no words today but I figured you’d rather have that than nothing. I’m off to watch them measure for counter tops!
Won’t be long now……..
what my frig taught me about myself
I learned a few things today from the contents of my frig.
the good:
-my crispers are full of good veggies
-we eat real butter (unlike some of my other very dear Lutheran friends who dare to cook with/eat margarine)
-we have plenty of left-overs, which adds to the lunch variety at home
-there’s a variety of good cheese: gruyere, parmegianno regianno, sharp cheddar, maytag blue, stilton, and real mozzarella
-we have plums picked from Jeff and Vicki’s plum tree that I must use soon (jelly? tart?)
-i’ve switched to unsweet tea, which is not easy or normal for a Southern girl
-there’s homeade salsa (made by me) and homeade strawberry jam (made by my sister)
the bad:
-there’s 12 visible sticks of butter and plenty more that you don’t see—don’t be scared
-there are 2 pints of heavy cream
-and 2 quarts of half and half
-don’t judge me
-there are five different containers/kinds of mayo
-repeat the don’t judge me part
-there’s two Jethro- sized half used ketchup bottles that make me wanna vow never to shop at Sam’s again (there’s something about the xl ketchup bottles that makes me lose respect for myself)
the ugly:
-there’s a bowl of something that makes me afraid
-there’s mocha protein milk from sometime in the winter
-there’s a pack of petrified bulk sausage that i just discovered way in the back behind the mexican pasta
-there’s full calorie mike’s lemonade which may mean i’ve given up
When my new BFF Adraine issued this request to see inside our frig’s, I did not tidy up or otherwise move things around (as if that weren’t abundantly clear). I think you should go right now and take a pic of the inside of your frig and post it on your blog and tell us all your dirty secrets. Tell us in the comments if you do it. I think this is big fun.
I vow to clean mine out.
Tomorrow.
You can peruse a host of frig’s here. Some of them are very funny. Maybe pantries should be next!
Rocky Top Chili Recipe aka {Best Chili Recipe Ever}
We’re having chili tonight because 1) we take our football seriously around here and 2) it’s my husbands’ love language. I call it Rocky Top chili because we live in Volunteer Country and who doesn’t love to to hear Rocky Top play 20 twenty times on a continuous loop?! I rest my case. There are a few hard and fast rules for this chili and one of them involves playing/singing/clogging to Rocky Top while you stir. All three gets you extra points. If I ever become famous, it’ll be because of this chili. This is my best chili recipe ever. Except that I make it different everytime, depending on whether there’s any smoked meat to throw in or not. People may love you for your money or good looks—-they love me for chili. And I’m okay with that.
Amen.
Ingredients:
- 2-2 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
- 1/2 pound pork sausage
- 1 large onion
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
- 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
- 3 T. cumin
- 3 T. chili powder
- 1 T. hot mexican chili powder
- 1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 – 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 3-4 cans 15 oz cans of various beans ( I use black, pinto, chili, cannelini) all in their sauces, no draining
- 1/2 jar chili sauce (12 oz jar)
- 2 T. Country Bob’s steak sauce
- 2 T. worcestershire sauce
- 3 T. honey or a 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 T. balsamic vinegar
- 1 12 oz beer or chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
I was gonna go all Pioneer Woman on you and blog every step of this chili recipe.
And though I love her like a sister (though we’ve never met—and did you know she now has a show on the food network?!), I honestly don’t have the patience to upload/edit every step of this 8 billion ingredient recipe.
Don’t be scared by the list. I’m laid back with my chili. I throw in what I have and if I don’t have it on hand, I find a willing and able substitute.
That being said, you’re gonna email me and ask me about Country Bob’s steak sauce. If you’re lucky enough to live in a city where you can get it, you make us all green with envy.
I bought mine whilst in Minnesota this summer and then blogged the event on Facebook thanking Issues for introducing me to it. That’s how good it is.
But if you don’t have Country Bob’s, use something else or just omit that step.
Here’s what you must not, under any circumstances, monkey around with—-
I like to call these “tomatoes that will change your life.” At any given time, I have 10 cans of these on hand. I never want to be caught unawares. It’s all very apocalyptic sounding but trust me on this one.
I put them in EVERY soup, EVERY sauce, EVERY tomato-requiring dish. They are pricey, I’ll give you that. So if you need more than one can of tomatoes, only use one of these.
But don’t scimp here.
What to do:
- Brown the meats
- Remove the meats and add a few swirls of olive oil and the onions and garlic
- Saute those til translucent, add back the meat and add the rest of the ingredients
- Simmer it as long as you have. I usually cook mine a couple hours in the am and then turn it back on the afternoon.
- You will need to re-season!!!! If you taste it in the afternoon and it needs more salt, add salt. More heat, add Sriracha, more sweet, add honey, more umpffff, add chili powder and cumin.
- If you don’t know what it needs, add a little salt and a strip or two of bacon. That always set the world aright. Don’t be scared. I always add more stuff and usually multiple things. That’s why they call me the chili queen. I’m not scared. I throw things in until it brings a tear to the eye.
Serve with fritos and sour cream and salsa and green onions and cheddar cheese.
Or better yet, serve with my Holy Guacamole!
It’s so easy to make and so tasty. Don’t be scared.
Here’s all you need:
- 2 avocados
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T. chopped onion
- Juice of one lime and one orange (I use orange if I have it but it’s not required. Lime is required)
- 1 fresh jalapeno or a few pickled jalapeños as desired for heat, chopped fine
- Salt and pepper to taste
And then dance a little Rocky Top jig!
Rocky Top Chili Recipe aka {Best Chili Recipe Ever}
Ingredients
- 2-2 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
- 1/2 pound pork sausage
- 1 large onion
- 5 cloves garlic chopped fine
- 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
- 3 T. cumin
- 3 T. chili powder
- 1 T. hot mexican chili powder
- 1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 - 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 3-4 cans 15 oz cans of various beans I use black, pinto, chili, cannelini all in their sauces)
- 1/2 jar chili sauce 12 oz jar
- 2 T. Country Bob's steak sauce
- 2 T. worcestershire sauce
- 3 T. honey or a 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 T. balsamic vinegar
- 1 12 oz beer or chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown the meats
- Remove the meats and add a few swirls of olive oil and the onions and garlic
- Saute those til translucent, add back the meat and add the rest of the ingredients
- Simmer it as long as you have. I usually cook mine a couple hours in the am and then turn it back on the afternoon.
- You will need to re-season!!!!
- If you taste it in the afternoon and it needs more salt, add salt.
- More heat? Add Sriracha, more sweet, add honey, more umpffff, add chili powder and cumin.
- If you don't know what it needs, add a little salt and a strip or two of bacon. That always set the world aright.
- Don't be scared. I always add more stuff and usually multiple things.
- Serve with fritos and sour cream and salsa and green onions and cheddar cheese.
True Freedom
If you live long enough, you’ll learn that life is full of heartache.
Thank goodness, it’s intermingled with intense joy but, for most of us, there’s a cross or two to bear.
That’s why I’m thankful to hear the gospel regularly and clearly.
It’s the message for all time, for all occasions, for all people—–that we are poor miserable sinners, all of us, but that God, in His mercy and love for us, sent His Son to be punished in our place so that we might live forever with Him in a new creation. It’s a grace that we can neither earn nor merit, lavished on us by our Father. He loves us. He sympathizes with us. He understands the deepest groanings of our hearts. He forgives us.
You are forgiven! You are free in Christ!
That is the message for baptisms, for weddings, for funerals, for your death bed, for the ten year memorial of 9-11, for every single Sunday.
Today, more than anything, we celebrate the death and resurrection of One who took our brutal punishment and set us free—-so that when all the towers finally fall—–we rest in the One who has always held the whole world in His hand.
He fights our enemies. He comforts our sorrow.
He gives us life, salvation and forgiveness.
We understand our own suffering and the pain of those around us only through the blood of Christ.
This grace given to us is free in Christ, but it wasn’t cheap.
It cost Him his very life and we live in gratitude for His gifts.
So, yes, we are thankful for our soldiers and for all the heroes of 9-11. We owe them a debt of gratitude. Their suffering is unspeakable.
But only Christ can rescue us from our true enemy and our faith and trust rests in Him and Him only—the One who understands our heartache and wipes away all our tears.
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Project Restoration:: Front Door, Stone Fireplace and more……
Do you have any idea how tired my girls are of being toted to the job site? And how they hang on my arms and say five hundred times, “Wheeeen are weeee leeeeaaaving?”
But last night, for some reason, they entertained themselves and pretended like the house was a castle. And they ran and screamed and ran some more.
Oh life’s little joys!
Speaking of little joys, they finished my concrete staining this week.
We decided to stain the basement floors instead of using traditional flooring.
I love how it turned out. We used a color called bronze on most of the floors but in the downstairs kitchen, we had them score it to look like tile and we used a darker brown called mocha.
This is one of the bedrooms with bronze.
The upstairs catwalk going into the girls’ room—one of the few places the floor isn’t completely covered with cardboard.
We’ve begun the fun part of painting wall colors.
I’ve never had so much trouble with colors in my whole life.
Funny thing is, the outrageous colors like pink and black were easy to choose and turned out great.
The ‘beige’ color for the bulk of the house has given me an ulcer.
I’ve painted forty eleven swatches on the wall and asked anyone who would pretend to care their opinion.
I couldn’t decide between hazy skies and abingdon putty. So what did I do?
I mixed them together of course. And you’ll see it soon.
This, however, is conch shell pink for the workroom.
The painter opened the paint and kindly said, “Um, ma’am, do you realize this paint is pink?” Yes. Yes I do!
I really like it with the floor!!! And remember, this is the room with orange drum shades, a yellow bamboo chandelier and a hot pink velvet office chair.
Doesn’t it just inspire you to make something crafty?
The view from the catwalk…….
The outrageous granite paint for the master! I love it too.
And the outdoor fireplace got stone this week. You can see it perfectly from our bedroom window.
The colonial style railing was installed. Love it and especially from the breezeway.
And this is the front door—–fir wood stained with early americana stain and then poly’ed.
And a sampling of the custom paint color I created. I’m weak and vulnerable. Don’t tell me if you hate it. I’ll burst into tears and look for chocolate.
Front door from the front. Steve and I both LOVE the door.
He said, “Now that’s a door you could hang the 95 theses from.”
It is indeed but please don’t. Let’s honor Martin Luther with the chapel balusters. No nails in the beautiful door.
The screen porch got framed up yesterday. I thank my neighbor Ms. Jan for letting me take many pictures of her screen porch so that I could emulate it as much as possible.
They’re gonna wait and put the screens in when we’re done with all the dusty work around here but I love it so far.
I even carry my beloved chair around from the garage and sit in it when I can.
And I leave you with this beauty!
Do you have any idea how much my tile guy hates me? This is apparently not fun to put down. This apparently makes perfectly rational people want to curse and throw things.
So far, I’ve brought him red velvet cake, cookies and brownies.
He starts the octagon and dot in my bathroom on Monday. What should I do—-mocha cake? strawberry cake? a clogging routine?
Just trying to be a blessing 🙂
And then there’s two more little things.
Number 1. I’m pretty sure my cabinets go in this week. Which means I may bring champagne to the job site.
Number 2. Did I tell you we got parakeets?
okay ba bye.
Project Restoration:: The Anatomy of a Baluster
This week we’ve turned a corner in the building project. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think it’s the hardwood that makes it feel like home.
We love the light floors. White oak, unstained, random width.
We also got our porch railings and the outdoor fireplace framed in. It will be a real wood burning fireplace. I can’t wait to sit and read by the fire in the chill autumn air!
Sorry for the cattywampus photo. You get the idea! The fireplace gets stone on Monday.
And that brings me to my favorite thing so far about this house—the balusters.
I’ve shown you my inspiration pic before. I gave it to my builder and he called his people and they called their people and voila!!!! I have balusters that make me do hitch kicks.
So when I went to the house yesterday and they were painted and installed—-I screamed and nearly cried and thought that my house had suddenly taken on the character of some old classic cathedral.
Bobby, the trim carpenter then proceeded to tell me that he had seen this very baluster shape in very old churches and chapels.
Then he gave me a baluster anatomy lesson and described the ‘fish’ shape on the top half of the baluster and the ‘chapel’ shape at the bottom.
I die. That is all.
Cue the hallelujah chorus.
I could sit and stare at them all day. And don’t worry, the handrail gets painted white too. Be patient, I know I’m trying to be!
And if that didn’t knock your socks off, I leave you with this. One of the landscaping guys heard a series of unmistakable ‘meows’ coming from underneath the huge dumpster that’s been parked at our house for all the construction trash. Today, the dumpster had to be emptied. Thankfully, my dear builder made sure the kitties were removed so that they weren’t killed in the process.
We’re not really cat people (my profuse apologies to Todd Wilken) and I’m not sure who owns the momma cat but who can resist this, you ask? Stevie can, that’s who.
They’re about the cutest things ever though. Second only to my balusters.
Amen.
