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Archive for Around the House

Halloween’s Past

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Renee Spindle

This being the last day of October, and Halloween I thought I would reminisce just a little with a few photos from the past. My kids have always loved costuming up for Halloween, and now Evan continues that tradition.

This is just a little mix of pictures from the past few years and beyond of our Halloween good times.

Evan loves to dress up and Halloween for him is such a treat. Here’s a few pictures of him from the past few years.

And some of the kids famous pumpkin carvings:

Some of my guys in their costumes:

And my favorite fall picture taken by my Travel Man a few years ago:

For me, Halloween is the first real signal of fall, which leads us to Thanksgiving, and of course the Christmas holiday season. To all of the ghouls and goblins out there have a fun Halloween evening.

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Holidays

A Near Electronics Mishap

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Last week I was in my kitchen working on chopping up some apples from our own tree, for an apple crisp. Many recipes that I use in the kitchen these days reside on my iPad. I use a program called Evernote to store a lot of my family favorite recipes, and also favorites that I have found on the internet.

I was diligently working, talking to the kids, and as I moved the cutting board I knocked over a glass of water, and it splattered my iPhone and iPad. My twenty-somethings jumped out of their seats, and got my iPad out-of-the-way. I grabbed my iPhone, and I was ever so thankful that I had the Otterbox cover on it. The twenty-somethings quickly grabbed some towels while I was tending to my iPhone, and we got everything dried up. Oh, and I also had my favorite Pioneer Woman cookbook sitting on the counter. This was a big glass of ice water.

Without the Otterbox cover on my iPhone it would have been toasted. I got the Otterbox for my iPhone because I’m always carrying it with me outside, especially when Travel Man’s on the road. And since I garden a little everyday it becomes a necessity when I am working outside. My Otterbox has saved my phone a few times now. Totally worth the investment.

There was a little skosch of water underneath the screen saver on the iPhone, and I had to remember how to get the darn Otterbox off of my phone. I could not remember which tabs to push or pull, so my daughter when on the internet and googled it for me. She tried to find a you tube video for me, but Travel Man knew how to take it off and saved the day.

Normally I don’t have a glass of anything liquid anywhere near my electronics. But I must have been extra thirsty on this cooking day, because I wasn’t really paying attention to where my glass of water was. I was focused on apple crisp (Which is a great recipe for another day). With so many electronics in the house it’s a wonder we have not had more mishaps similar to this one. Fortunately for me, this one turned out A-ok.

Have you had any electronics mishaps recently?

2 comments Posted in Around the House, Blogging, Electronics, Family

Chile Rellenos Casserole

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Renee Spindle

One of my favorite recipes to materialize from my garden harvest this summer, was this recipe for a chile rellenos casserole from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It’s cheesy, got lots of flavor from the jalapenos, and super easy to throw together. It’s a great dinner side dish, or it would make a wonderful casserole for a brunch.

Ingredients:

2 Large, fresh poblano chile peppers, fresh Anaheim chile peppers or green sweet peppers (8 Oz)
1 Cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers or mexican blend cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers or mexican blend cheese
Picante sauce (optional)
Dairy sour cream (optional)

Directions:

1) Pre-heat the oven to 450°. Quarter the peppers and remove the seeds, stems and veins.

2) Submerge the peppers into boiling water for 3 minutes, and then drain well. Turn them over and pat dry with paper towels.

3) Place the peppers in a well-greased 2 quart square baking dish, and top with 1 cup of the cheese.

4) In a medium bowl combine eggs and milk. Add flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and salt.

5) Beat until smooth with a rotary beater. Pour egg mixture over peppers and cheese.

6) Bake uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until a knife inserted into the egg mixture comes out clean.

7) Sprinkle with the 1/2 cup cheese, and let stand about 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

The finished product should look something like this:

Oh, so pretty with the green of the jalapenos peeking through the cheese. I do have to say that you must remember that I am the “spice weenie” in our house. So I only added half of the cayenne pepper that this recipe calls for. Next time I make this I promised the family a “little” heat will be added to the mix!

What’s your favorite casserole dish?

2 comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Food, Recipes

Sometimes It Does Rain in Southern California

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Last Thursday we had a rare thunderstorm here in SoCal. There was a little thunder, a little lightning, and a rainbow. Evan was with me after school, right in the heart of the thunder-storm. He doesn’t get to see or feel the rain very often, so he got his “garden” boots on, asked if he could use my new umbrella, and off he went prancing or should I say stomping in the rain.

This umbrella is like a tent. Such a boy!!

This just makes me want to watch “Singing in the Rain”

We have had a hot summer here in SoCal, in fact today it was still almost 100 degrees. So it’s nice to have an afternoon of rain, a little thunder, and some awesome clouds after the fact. I’m glad we got to share this with Evan, because he’s a boy, and he loves to get wet and muddy whenever possible. I have to dig out my “Singing in the Rain” dvd and watch it with Evan. It’s a good rainy day movie.

What’s your favorite rainy day movie to watch? Happy Wednesday everyone.

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family

Naomi’s Roasted Veggie Salsa

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Renee Spindle

There are a ton of jalapenos to be used up from my recent garden harvest. One of my favorite ways to use the jalapenos is in my daughter, Naomi’s roasted salsa. My daughter got me hooked on her salsa the first time I tasted it, and being the “spice weenie” that I am it’s amazing that I liked it at all. She roasts fresh veggies, and throws everything in the food processor for a yummy, yummy treat. This recipe has become a family favorite for all of our family get togethers.

Now here’s what you need to do to make it.

Ingredients:

8 big tomatoes
3 mild jalapeños
handful of cilantro
1/2 of a white or red onion
garlic salt
a couple of splashes of el pato tomato sauce
* Note – for a milder salsa clean the seeds from the jalapeño, and slice in half before roasting.

Directions:

1) Rinse your veggies, and toss them on a big cookie sheet. The jalapenos are de-seeded and sliced in half for my roasting purposes. Since I’m the spice weenie. I don’t want the heat.

2) Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 15 minutes.

3) Then turn your oven to broil, and cook the veggies for an additional 10 minutes.

4) After the veggies are cooked, cool them in the fridge overnite, or for at least 6 hours.

5) To put the salsa together pull out your favorite food processor.

6) Put the onion in the food processor in quarters, and chop until very fine.

7) Cut the center from the tomatoes, and either quarter them or cut them in half for smoother processing.

8) Place the remaining ingredients in the food processor, and pulse only for a thicker, chunkier salsa.

9) I pulse for just a few seconds and then check the consistency before pulsing again. This is consistency that I like to have for my salsa. Can you see the little bits of roasted jalapeno? This gives the salsa such great flavor. Yum!

10) This next item is very important in the salsa process. Get your favorite tortilla chips out of the cupboard, and taste test the salsa to be sure you have enough garlic salt, and the heat is the way you like it. You can also designate an official taste tester, but I prefer to do my own tasting.

11) I only like my salsa very mild (the spice weenie effect), so these directions don’t include a lot of ingredients for the heat. If you want or like the extra heat; leave the seeds in the jalapenos, and add additional el pato sauce.

This is a wonderful fresh salsa. You can use it in your favorite guacamole recipe, as a garnish on tacos or burritos. The sky is the limit. If you enjoy the roasted veggie flavor this is a great staple salsa that you can make all on your own. I’m off to the kitchen to make my next batch. Have a great weekend everyone.