Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!! 75 Years!!! Wish I was there- or you was here to celebrate!!! XXX

Kitchen Disasters & Small Miracles.

Okay, so today, I took the pans out of the oven before turning it on to make mine & Paul's dinner...(Tea). Well, I didn't realize it at the time- but the glass lid to the big skillet had slid down the back of the oven- and was standing sideways right against where the open flame is...(we have a gas oven & cooker). So after about 3 minutes- it doesn't take long for the oven to heat up because it IS a gas oven- I opened the door and tried to put the pan with the oven fries in it. The pan wouldn't go in- so I got on my knees and looked back there- and saw the glass lid wedged in the back of the oven.
Well, thinking it hadn't been in there long enough to get too hot- I got a potholder and got it out-AFTER I turned the oven off, of course. There was a bit of a white spot on it but the black plastic lid handle on it wasn't smoking or melted even a little bit and so I put it on top of the skillet it belongs on to cool off. Then I turned the oven back on and put the oven fries in the oven to bake while I started the Hamburger patties on the cooker for supper.

The burger patties had been on cooking for about two minutes- and I went to the cooker to flip them to brown on the other side and JUST as I turned away from the cooker and took ONE step away- the glass skillet lid that had been in the oven EXPLODED and sent thousands of tiny glass shards all over the kitchen!!!!!

I was stunned- thinking the cooker had exploded. But I realized after a few seconds that it wasn't THAT bad- and I was alive and except for glass all over my hair and clothes and the kitchen, I was okay and the house wasn't broken. Except for the glass lid.

Paul was upstairs working on the computer with the headset on and didn't hear it- thank God.....if he had, he probably would have either broken his leg coming down the stairs or something equally bad.

I went out side- shook the glass out of my hair and flipped it off my clothes- then went upstairs to tell Paul what had happened. After making sure I was okay, he came down to see the damage and offered to help me clean it up- but I told Him I had it under control. I had to start dinner over- the meat anyway, and spent the next hour cleaning the glass from the surfaces of the kitchen... counters, floors, the cooker, the cabinet doors, that glass dust was EVERYWHERE.

God bless him- I love my hubby.......now I just have to face my mother-in-law and tell her I ruined her pan- the one she always uses to make her world famous Paella. Well, not the actual PAN- but the lid for it. Knowing what a sweet woman she is- she will be more concerned about us and the dogs and the house not being blown up than the pan lid- but that's neither here nor there.....I still screwed up. And I WILL replace the pan as soon as I get working.

*Note to self*- if this situation EVER arises again (GOD FORBID) turn the oven off and leave the pan/lid/whatever INSIDE the oven to cool off S-L-O-W-L-Y.

And Thank you, my Guardian Angel, for sitting on my shoulder today. A face full of glass shards would NOT have been fun today- or any day for that matter.

Thank God for small miracles.

Kitchen Disasters & Small Miracles.

Okay, so today, I took the pans out of the oven before turning it on to make mine & Paul's dinner...(Tea). Well, I didn't realize it at the time- but the glass lid to the big skillet had slid down the back of the oven- and was standing sideways right against where the open flame is...(we have a gas oven & cooker). So after about 3 minutes- it doesn't take long for the oven to heat up because it IS a gas oven- I opened the door and tried to put the pan with the oven fries in it. The pan wouldn't go in- so I got on my knees and looked back there- and saw the glass lid wedged in the back of the oven.
Well, thinking it hadn't been in there long enough to get too hot- I got a potholder and got it out-AFTER I turned the oven off, of course. There was a bit of a white spot on it but the black plastic lid handle on it wasn't smoking or melted even a little bit and so I put it on top of the skillet it belongs on to cool off. Then I turned the oven back on and put the oven fries in the oven to bake while I started the Hamburger patties on the cooker for supper.

The burger patties had been on cooking for about two minutes- and I went to the cooker to flip them to brown on the other side and JUST as I turned away from the cooker and took ONE step away- the glass skillet lid that had been in the oven EXPLODED and sent thousands of tiny glass shards all over the kitchen!!!!!

I was stunned- thinking the cooker had exploded. But I realized after a few seconds that it wasn't THAT bad- and I was alive and except for glass all over my hair and clothes and the kitchen, I was okay and the house wasn't broken. Except for the glass lid.

Paul was upstairs working on the computer with the headset on and didn't hear it- thank God.....if he had, he probably would have either broken his leg coming down the stairs or something equally bad.

I went out side- shook the glass out of my hair and flipped it off my clothes- then went upstairs to tell Paul what had happened. After making sure I was okay, he came down to see the damage and offered to help me clean it up- but I told Him I had it under control. I had to start dinner over- the meat anyway, and spent the next hour cleaning the glass from the surfaces of the kitchen... counters, floors, the cooker, the cabinet doors, that glass dust was EVERYWHERE.

God bless him- I love my hubby.......now I just have to face my mother-in-law and tell her I ruined her pan- the one she always uses to make her world famous Paella. Well, not the actual PAN- but the lid for it. Knowing what a sweet woman she is- she will be more concerned about us and the dogs and the house not being blown up than the pan lid- but that's neither here nor there.....I still screwed up. And I WILL replace the pan as soon as I get working.

*Note to self*- if this situation EVER arises again (GOD FORBID) turn the oven off and leave the pan/lid/whatever INSIDE the oven to cool off S-L-O-W-L-Y.

And Thank you, my Guardian Angel, for sitting on my shoulder today. A face full of glass shards would NOT have been fun today- or any day for that matter.

Thank God for small miracles.

Deep Dark Luscious Delight........

I'm sorry- but what is WRONG with some people. I just cannot- absolutely cannot -relate to anyone who doesn't like chocolate.
Choooooooooooccccccooooooolllllllaaaaaaaaatttttteeeeeeeeee!!!!
I adore chocolate. Most women(and men) do.

I personally love the darker, less sweet versions of chocolate. Love all the candy bars with dark chocolate covering a different kind of goodness inside.
When Hershey's came out with their Special Dark Cocoa, I was overjoyed!!!! Now I could bake all my favorite chocolate recipes and have them turn out the dark-almost BLACK- chocolate I have always loved.

But I'm surrounded by people who DON'T love chocolate....not only that- they don't even LIKE it.
Who wouldn't love the smooth ooie, gooie, meltie taste of a S'mores? Or Chocolate Lava Cake.....or Home-made fudge? Who could resist a big think slice of mile high chocolate cake, filled and frosted with a thick layer of swirly, dark chocolate mocha frosting? Or a pure white layer cake filled and frosted with that very same chocolate mocha frosting? Or a big slice of Mississippi Mud Pie?

What about a Cadbury's Creme Egg? Or a bag of Brach's creme filled candies? M&M's?
Quik milk? Milk Chocolate Stars??? Chocolate brownies........Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies?
Remember Bar-None Candy Bars?... so rich and chocolaty you could hardly eat ONE?

Oh The Pain- The Pain!!!!!!!........of everyone not loving chocolate like we chocolate connoisseurs do.

Rufford Old Hall......

Today we went to a National Trust house.....Rufford Old Hall...and when they say OLD- they mean it. The main portion of the house was built in 1580. The next newer portion had a brick on it dated 1662. Here are a few photos of the visit. The house sat right on the canal......The grounds were beautiful as was the house- altho we wasn't supposed to photograph inside the house except for the Great Hall.....because flash somehow makes things age or disintegrate or something like that. Sorry about that. At any rate- I still managed to get some good shots. Not great- Paul only brought his recorder and I thought it was his cam- so these were taken on my Phone Cam. But it was a lovely day out. And I enjoyed it thoroughly!!!!

Occasionally......

Occasionally I make something that's NOT sweet that I want to share.......This is one of those times. I know it's like a zillion degrees in the states, but it's barely sixty here in England...so maybe you can squirrel it away for the cooler weather.

Hamburger Stoup

2 lbs. ground beef

2 tablespoons soy sauce or Teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil- or bacon grease

1 can diced or chopped tomatoes

2 medium onions, chopped

2 stalks celery, diced small(optional-but recommended- you cannot taste it if you chop it small enough and it makes all the difference in the world to the taste of the soup!!!)

½ cup carrot, chopped small

½ red bell pepper, diced medium

2 vegetable stock cubes

1-2 cups leftover Black-eye peas or pinto beans

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into chunks

Heat oil or bacon grease in skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and celery to oil. Lower heat and continue to cook until onions are translucent- about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same skillet, brown ground beef. Drain excess fat. Add soy or teriyaki to ground beef. Dissolve the vegetable stock cubes in a cup of boiling water. In a large saucepan combine the ground beef and cooked vegetables. Then add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, salt, pepper, carrots, black-eye peas or pinto beans. Add water to the saucepan until it is 1 inch above the ingredients in the pan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for an hour. THEN add potatoes and simmer until potatoes are cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with biscuits, cornbread or crackers.

The Little Things.....

Today I was having a bit of a tidy in our bedroom, going thru some of our boxes we shipped over from the states, seeing what we had in them. (I was actually looking for my cake decorating set which I haven't found yet.......)...but in looking thru the boxes- I came across one of the little golf-tee puzzles from Cracker barrel. I cleaned it up and have sat here for the past hour playing with it- (WITHOUT looking up the cheat-looking up cheats are no flipping fun at ALL)- and thoroughly enjoyed myself, just as much as I did the hour I spent playing the computer game MINECRAFT before I went up to tidy the bedroom.
That got me thinking and I remembered when my kids were little and I was recently divorced, working part time on weekends and struggling to make ends meet. The carpenters shop at work always had a half barrel of odd pieces of blocks and bits of wood left over from their projects at the end of the week. Very small pieces of them- like children's blocks you buy at the store and paid a LOT of money for. (This was back in the 80's, mind you).
One day, I found one of the carpenters working late and so I asked him if they used the leftover wood pieces in the barrel. He said no- they were just leftover scraps good for nothing, so I asked if I could grab a few of the "scraps" they had in the barrel. He said "Sure, feel free to take what-ever's in the barrel."... and when I came back by on my way back to the guard house, he asked me out of curiosity what I was planning on doing with them. I told him I had three small kids- two boys and a little tomboy girl, and I was wanting the blocks for them to use as building blocks since they loved the set my dad had gotten them for the previous Christmas, but they were WAYYYY too expensive for my budget at the moment. He laughed and said he certainly understood that and to help myself to whatever I wanted.
Every weekend I worked after that, there was a couple dozen or so bits of the blocks in a bag in the barrel. Not only was it the blocks...but they were sanded down a bit as well. My kids thought they were awesome and had the best time building huge cities with them the next few years.
God Bless Angels on Earth.