Been too long........

me and my grandson

Wow.......talk about time totally getting away from you!!!

The past year went by and I had so much on my plate that this blog got pushed not only to the back, but wayyyyyyyy to the back of the very deepest closet ever!!!

The biggest change in my life is the diagnosis of Lyme Disease. I started getting sick January of 2011.

Finally, last August I found a doc that figured out what was wrong with me. Now it's just a matter of getting treatment.

Which by the way can take a year or more before they think they can get rid of the bacteria.........

At this point I'm learning all I never wanted to know about this horrific disease, while I'm on my up and down journey with Lyme Disease

All this on top of starting a new job last year- Starbucks (all the coffee I could ever drink), and also our son, daughter in law and grandson have been living with us for the past year.

Life right now is CHAOS.......I really, really miss my clean and quiet house. I know I will miss the kids when they finally move out.......but am ready for that!!

Coleman Kitchen

Well, since it's officially spring........I guess it's time to start thinking about camping this year.

I was looking at our camping gear, specifically our Coleman camp kitchen.

We've had it for over 15 years now. I wasn't sure when we bought it (kinda on the pricey side at the time).

But, it's really held up over the years......I guess the old adage,  you get what you pay for is true.

Now, another piece of our camper furniture, an old pop up table (looks like a suitcase when you fold it up) is starting to wear out.

 I keep expecting it to just sort of fold up when ever I sit down on one of the seats. So, I guess we need to start looking at replacement tables for camping.

All Fired Up!!! Buffalo Flank Steak

A new found cousin of mine submitted the yummy tasting recipe -Buffalo Flank Steak- to a local publication in Oklahoma.

The publication comes out every year, and features several kinds of recipes. I really like the sound of the Buffalo Flank Steak (am gonna add it to my easy camp meals recipe list).

Here's my cousin Bev's recipe..........

Ingredients:

• Buffalo Flank Steak- 1 1/2 lb.
• 1/3 Canola oil
• 2 Tsp. minced fresh thyme,
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 2 Tsp. minced fresh rosemary
• 1/4 cup minced shallots or green onions
• fresh ground pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Place flank steak in bowl and cover. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours. Be sure to turn steak once or twice.

Light your charcoal grill or preheat your gas grill to high.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet:
Melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat, add 1/2 inch slices of 2 onions…stir occasionally till golden brown.

Add 1/2 cup cider vinegar, stirring to scrape up brown bits on bottom of pan.

Stir in 1 cup brown sugar and cook stirring frequently till thick, about 8-10 minutes.

Stir in 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries and remove from heat.

Season with pepper to taste.

This can be done ahead of time if you are camping, take it with you and reheat on the grill in a cast iron skillet or a foil wrap.

Remove steak from marinade. Discard marinade.

Place steak on grill and cook for 2 minutes on each side for medium rare ( Bison can get too tough if cooked longer).

Transfer steak to a carving board, tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 4 minutes.(No drooling….and no sampling, be patient, it will be worth the wait!!!!)

The steak will continue to cook in the foil tent…..

Reheat onion mixture over low heat. Cut steak into thin slices against the grain and top with onion sauce.

Serves 4

Craft ideas for kids.......

As a mom, I've done my stint as Brownee Leader, Cub scout leader, and teacher's aid.

I've also done child care in my home for several years while my kids were little.

Anyone that spends any amount of time with kids, will learn to create a list of crafts. You want to be sure to keep your list of crafts simple and easy (don't want to be paying a lot of cash out for these crafts). 

Over the years we have made, wooden rally cars(for Cub Scouts), braided bracelets, bird houses, clay puppets, gingerbread houses, cut out and painted wooden hearts, made key shaped key holders out of wood, foam picture frames, rock necklace's, pine cone decorations for trees, pine cone bird feeders, soda bottle bird feeders, etc..... some of these I still have. Some of course have disappeared over the years. 

Turkey treat holder

I would also keep a small tote of craft supplies in our camping gear. Most craft ideas for kids can also be craft ideas for camp.... The beautiful thing about camping, you are surrounded by so many items to use in your crafts.  Rocks, pine and fir cones, twigs, small flowers, sand, pine needles.....just to mention a few.

 Don't forget to introduce your kids to a camera and the art that they can create from that. It can be so easy to forget about crafts and just plop the kids in front of a computer or t.v. 

But spending some time with your kids, creating different craft projects can be so much fun, and educational for the kids. 

Tough week on the home front....

It's been a tough week around here.

 Actually, it's been a tough few months.

Brigitte-Rest in Peace my friend.

One of my best friends has been fighting the good fight against cancer for the past 6 years. Thursday morning she lost the battle.

 I know Brigitte is at rest now, and am trying to keep focused on the day to day things that always seem to doing.

 I think I'm also going to plan a camping trip. Maybe getting away from home for even a week-end will help clear the head and start healing the heart.

 I know it's awful early in the spring, but we haven't had much winter this year, and even if it rains, so what!!

We have that pretty little Arctic Fox we can hole up in and pass the day drinking hot toddies and reading a good book.

Since I took the time last fall to clean the 5th wheel, all I have to do is restock the perishables and figure out what to cook while camping.

 I always like to try something different when out camping.

Since we try to eat healthy at home, we kinda treat ourselves when camping. But, I also like to stick to simple and easy meals for camping.

Since we are going to be camping in the trailer, maybe a roasted chicken with roasted potato's. Or a nice pot of chili, with some cornbread.

Hmmmm. .... choices,choices....

Marshmallows, chocolate and cookies

I found some left over marshmallows the other day while cleaning out my kitchen cabinet.

I'm not sure how long they've been up there, but they were starting to get that dried out feeling.

I was gonna have to do something with these or throw them out......


 
So, I stood there looking at this bag of marshmallows, wondering what the heck to do with them.


Then I had a brain flash!!!!

I had just made a batch of super chocolate chip cookies.



And what goes better with marshmallows then chocolate.....

So.........I melted a few of those marshmallows, stuck them between two cookies and smished the cookies together!!!!!




This is what I ended up with.

The big kid in my life did the taste test for me.

I think these smores cookies are a BIG hit!!!

Cool mornings and hot pancakes.....

What can be better then some steamy, hot, buttery pancakes as a breakfast for camping?

I've been whipping up pancakes for over 30 years for the family.

I've made sourdough pancakes,  from the box pancakes and scratch pancakes.

And now I've put together a recipe for Oat Pancakes that I absolutely love.........

The oats add a whole new texture and flavor to the pancakes. Plus the added healthy benefits of fiber is always welcomed.......

But- what kind of syrup to use??

I've slowly been getting away from processed foods, especially anything that has high fructose corn syrup in it.

I did find a syrup that was made with brown rice syrup, with maple syrup.

Log Cabin makes it. It's not too bad, just wish I could afford the real maple syrup......

I've also used molasses now and then on our pancakes. I actually kinda like the flavor of molasses, and of course there's always honey.


Hmmmm, I think it's time to make up a batch of these pancakes, I'm starting to get hungry!!!!