Squash Patties W/ PICTURES (oohhhh, aaahhhhh)

This is a recipe I got from my cousin, KELLY! Kelly is a child of Martha Stuart's TEACHER....lol.

I will probably never, ever, never, not gonna do it, no way, no how make dipped and fried squash again....takes way too long.

This recipe is sooooo much easier!

3 cups of GRATED squash...I used 3 small squashes. (is that a word?)
I peeled them.....

Yes! Thank goodness my mother is an INFOMERCIAL JUNKIE!
This is actually my 2nd Ultimate Chopper....I wore out the first one...
then stole borrowed mom's because she never cooks...which means, she never used it!
THANKS MOM!!!

I chunked up the squash.

...barely, I mean BARELY touched the little red button...

If you do it any longer, you will have BABY FOOD.

If you do NOT have an Ultimate Chopper, I will mourn FOR you.

I guess you could use the pre-historic GRATER.

2/3 cup of baking mix...aka...bisquick...but I am too cheap

and I like Aldi's brands.

1/2 cup of cheese...or more if you like.

I like cheese!

1/3 cup of chopped onion....I used 1/2 cup...we like onions also.

This is a FRESH onion that I got at the local Farmer's Market.

One egg...and of course this is a FARM FRESH EGG...straight

from the little chickens in the yard.

Mix all the ingredients.

Have some oil heating up on the stove.

When the oil is HOT.

Drop by spoonfuls into the grease and flatten.

When browned on one side...very carefully turn them over and brown

the other side.

Browning, browning...browning...

I guess right about here is where I mention that I am NOT skinny....

I know, I'm sure you already figured that out...

I made about 21 precious little squash patties!

Sprinkle w/ salt.

My husband like them w/ ranch dressing...

I haven't found anything that isn't good w/ ranch dressing, have you?

Someone Paid $0.44 for THIS?

This is what I got from our wonderful United States Post Office....

Make sure you click and ENLARGE this masterpiece....

What hurt my feelings and crushed my "I AM SOMEBODY" mentality....

was the simple fact....

THAT THE POSTMASTER COULDN'T EVEN SIGN THE ENVELOPE!!!

What if this would have been a diploma or something...maybe it was...

I will never KNOW because I couldn't tell what it was!!!!

Name That Recipe

New recipe, no name....

I just know that the family gave it a two thumbs up, so I will have to come up w/ a name beside peppers, sausage and penne!
UGLY BUT GOOD RECIPE!

1 small box of penne noodles (UNCOOKED)
3 multi-colored bell peppers (diced)
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce (I like the garlic and onion Great Value)
1 can of Hunt's Italian tomatoes w/ garlic
1 medium onion (diced)
1 package of smoked sausage (sliced thin)
Olive Oil

In large skillet, saute the peppers and onions in olive oil

add smoked sausage

add Hunt's Italian tomatoes

add spaghetti sauce

add UNCOOKED penne

add about 1/2 to 1 cup of water enough to cover noodles

STIR

bring to boil

cover and reduce heat

Continue to cook until noodles are soft but still firm

Remove lid and turn off the heat

Let set for about 5 minutes

Serves A LOT...we have 5 and we had leftovers!

Curtains for the West Facing Patio

Click the BUTTON to see other great DIY projects!!

I have a beautiful view from my patio....

There are gorgeous sunsets each evening....

Sometimes the sunsets are very HOT!

I decided I wanted curtains on my patio.

It would be too expensive to buy pretty rods...I would need 4 of them.

Husband REFUSED to drill into the bricks....so, the brain gears started turning.

We walked up and down the aisles at Lowe's....trying to think outside the box.

Then I found conduit pipe....and hooks...and rubber end caps....

I had already collected pretty flat sheets at thrift stores and garage sales....

I LOVE THIS SHEET AND WISH I COULD FIND MORE JUST LIKE IT...at the right price!

You can get the hanging things at Wal-Mart in the curtain rod section. You do not have to sew to hang these...they just clamp on.

This is a closer view of our BRILLIANT IDEA!! What is even more BRILLIANT...was that IT WORKED.

TOTAL COST OF PROJECT = Less than $50.00

The most expensive items were the hangy things....$20.00.

This is only one curtain....I will have FOUR.

Menu Monday

Click the button above to see more great menu plans and recipes!

The last week of July...wow, has the summer flown by or what? Enjoy the menu this week....I am going to try to make an effort to blog the recipes with pics for future reference. I'm not making any guarantees though....lol.

MONDAY - French Bread Pizza, Fresh Fruit

TUESDAY - Chicken Alfredo, Garlic Bread

WEDNESDAY - Pioneer Woman's "Marlboro Man's Sandwich", French Fries

THURSDAY - Roasted Chicken Legs, Baked Beans, Deviled Eggs

FRIDAY - Grilled Pork Chops, Potatoes, Corn on the Cob

SATURDAY - HAPPY 22nd ANNIVERSARY! NOT COOKING!

SUNDAY - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Mac & Cheese

Do You Have a Sewing Dummy?

This is Donna's sewing dummy. You might remember Donna from the Primitive Home Tour. How creative is THIS?

She took regular rubber stamps and paint to make this

very original "advertisement" on the sewing dummy.

Closer view.....very personal and very creative that Donna is, don't you think?

If you want to see more of Donna's home, just click HERE, HERE, and HERE.

What We Do on the 6th Day of VBS....

WE SWIM!!!

These are just some random shots of our evening at the pool.

I sure wish I could have found an old timey bathing suit for my character to wear...but I did not....so, no costume to show you, my fans...so sorry.

Her shirt says, "firecracker"...sooooo cute!!!

Ok, most would think these are twins....NOPE.

They didn't even know each other before this picture.

One is Lucas and the other is Nicholas...even the names are close.

One was born on October 19th and the other October 26th...OF THE SAME YEAR!

I guess we REALLY DO have a twin somewhere in the world...and these two just found theirs!

Our Life Guard...Leslie!

Future model....and has the height to go with the looks.

Cheesin' for the camera!

If only these ladies knew how many pictures I took just to get this one w/ them ALL looking....sheesh.

I think this is an amazing pic...look how the water looks like ICE.

I also love the fact that you can tell how much work it took to slap that water....just look at his tongue.....

Day 5 of Camp E.D.G.E

I know you have just been chomping at the bit to see what I came up with for the last day of Camp E.D.G.E., weren't you?

This is my "pretty" outfit.

Several girls wanted me to be "pretty".

So, this was my attempt...and boy was it successful!

The little girls LOVED my black dress w/ pink polka dots!

I felt like "The Church Lady" on an Andy Griffith episode.

Note: THE SHOES!!
This is the NORMAL me in a pretty dress looking like "The CRAZY Church Lady".

I know you have been just waiting and waiting for the XTREME SPORT for the final day of Camp E.D.G.E.

Well, it was XTREME IRONING!

Believe it or not, it is an actual event.

If you don't believe me, just go to YOU TUBE and search it out.

Nutty Buddy didn't do too well on ironing his shirt though, so he couldn't dress up w/ Imogene Marciella Funn (aka I.M. Fun). He managed to burn a huge hole in the back of the shirt.

Yes! We warned the kids to NEVER try this without ADULT supervision!

This is my nutty daughter, Sydni.

She turned 17 on the last day of VBS.

I got her the shirt so she could wear it like it was a fan shirt of our

camp mascot, Nutty Buddy. Not bad for $3.00 at Wal-Mart.

This is a prop.

I drew this prop about 5+ years ago...and can't even remember what it was for.

It was re-purposed for Camp E.D.G.E.

I think I might just add this picture for my profile pic, what do you think?