Venison Spaghetti, Tomato Basil and Mozzarella on Homemade Bread

My Boss gave me some ground deer meat and suggested I make spaghetti out of it.  So that's exactly what I did.  I've had deer before and it can be a little gamey...if not prepared right.  But happily, this deer was not the slightest bit gamey.  I've been perfecting my homemade sauce; I added bell peppers to this recipe.  It was a success! The girls loved it and we even had it for leftovers for lunch today.  Michael was even happy. 

As a side, I brushed my homemade white bread with olive oil, diced up tomatoes, mixed with basil, garlic salt and topped it with Mozzarella cheese.  I then baked this in the oven for about 10 minites.

 

Here are my girls eating leftover spaghetti!!

 

 

 



Tonight for supper we are having corn beef, cabbage and potato soup,  I had made this a while ago and froze a portion.  I want on Wednesdays to be easy eats, because it's a pretty busy night with going to church.  So I reheated that with some rice and made this facoccia bread.  I will serve this with the soup with some olive oil. As you can see my family are big bread eaters....

 

Before going in the oven.

 

The finished product.



In the Mood to Bake...

The house smelled delicious because I was in the mood to bake yesterday evening!  Mike went out with some of his friends after work so I had the evening with just the girls.  So I thought what a great time to do some baking.  The first thing on my list was over sized oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  I really am getting very proud of myself (I can brag on myself because if you knew my cooking skills you'd brag on me too!!).  The cookies came out perfect....they were moist and chewy and just plain yummy!!  Baking gives such instant gratification.  Lizzie even helped by beating the eggs and pouring the ingredients in the bowl.  Bella wanted to get in on the action but was deeply upset when I had to tell her that when she gets older she could help.

 

 

The next thing I baked was bread.  Oh yummy!  It was so wonderful.  The whole house just smelled like fresh bread.  It really turned out great.  The only thing I wasn't too happy with was that the rise on my dough wasn't enough.  Does anyone know why that could be?  I was thinking that it could be because the yeast I used was stored in the freezer.  I made a ham sandwich for dinner with that bread...nothing like homemade!! 

 



A Dumbfounded Discourse

photo courtesy of http://www.cnn.com/

When I look at the hoards of people representing the voting base for Obama as he stands on a stage behind his "pulpit", I see behind him people standing with their wild frantic smiles, their approving almost fanatical calls and yells for, "four more years!".  I see looks of deep adoration and praise. The young are mainly there-the college kid, or professional, women, the minority, and the progressive. As I look closely at each face represented, I become dumbfounded.  I get speechless.  As he systematically spews his rhetoric to this group of gullibles, I ponder what it would be like to be one of them; I conclude that I cannot equate any logical reason to their supposed "love" for this man, a man who clearly has lead our country astray. 

In one report about Hurricane Sandy, a man, an immigrant, who has been suffering from the after affects of Sandy said that he came to this country to get away from what he was experiencing in the wake of the devastation; the long lines, the looting, no food, feeling forgotten, living in filth, having no direction; he was questioning his decision  to come here, to come to the greatest country on the planet.   Another old lady in tears, crying, asked the interviewer, "Is this America,  I really don't know anymore..."  This struct me with such saddess.

The policies that have been put in place in New York, New Jersey and surrounding states mirror what the Federal Government has done to most of the country.  The so called "green" initiatives, that now slow, or even impede the the North East's ability to get the power back on. Supprisingly I came to find out that there have been no new nuclear power plants built there for decades. All because of the face of  envirmentally freiendlier atmosphere projcts,  all backed by the EPA, an agency that crushes America's abillity to become engery independent. This infrastructure has been laden in its task to keep up with the growing populous...it was operating on the brink for some time and it was only a matter of time or in this case, the storm that caused it to cross the brink into destruction.   5 Days, and there still is no power, running water, or gas...what are we? a 3rd world country?  It seems like that when you view the images coming out of the North East.  And amidst it all, Obama goes back to his perpetual campaigning...leaving behind an area of country still ravaged by the storm; our fellow countrymen suffering;  fema and the red cross, all entities of big government aren't doing their part quick enough because of the bureaucratic walls that hinder the  North East's ability to move forward with a recovery.  I was in the military for 6 years and I know what that bureaucratic tape is like....pass the buck...pass the buck...it's not in my SOP...this is sadly the mentality of most government workers.  Because their roles are so defined, they must defend themselves in times of reelection and change of commands to those taking over into seeing their job as needed... and as a result this passing of the buck continues for days until finally it "reaches" the appropriate "person"  For four years Obama has made this maze of red tape deeper and more intense.

In conclusion, my fear for the next four days is that people won't wake up and the hoards of progressive Obama supporters will usher in "The worst Possible Thing to Happen to Our Country" since the time of slavery....a man who fundamentally wants to change the very fabric of our foundation, into the European model.  Socialism is just the precursor to Communism...and it's in our future if we don't stop it on Tuesday...

Dear Lizzie...

This morning at breakfast as I was about to say grace, you decided that you would like to pray for the food.  So of course I was happy to let you.  This is how your prayer went, "Dear Lord, Thank you for this food and thank you for Obama!"....I was shocked, dismayed...oh know! What did I do wrong for you to say such things! (I'm being sarcastic)   Really you've been hearing my prayers each meal time and I think that that was your translation...my prayers have been, "Dear Lord, Thank you for this food please take Obama out of office..." So in truth, my dear Lizzie, I hope that's what you meant!!  :)You've also become very involved in the political scene,  you've been asking mommy to turn on the "Obama TV", she is referring to Fox News...you also know who Romney is and you know that's who we want to win!!

Here you are, the butterfly princess!!

The "Progressive" Housewife Learns Her ABCs

No one told me what being married would really be like.  Before marriage, I was a "career" woman, I had no real idea of what an adjustment it would be.  You see my background forged the very foundation of who I am with the intermingling of three very important activities in my up bringing, 1) going to a good Bible church sporadically during my formulative adolescent years, 2) going to a public school, and 3)fending for myself in the areas of the domestic arts as a young girl.  I don't say this to be critical of my mother's memory, inspite of the fact she had to work all the time, her deep desire was to stay at home with us, especially when we were young, but life brings things your way and you do the best you can...Anyway, these three things gave me several conflicting philosophies as related to the area of domesticity.  The Bible definition, the human definition and then my own take on the two.  Of course when you have the truth...it will always somehow make its way to the top, like the cream in milk...the very best is just waiting to be taken.  After marriage, wonderfully delighted with my new found very defined role, I began to struggle in areas of, uh oh, beware my feminist friends, of submitting to the authority of my husband...very quickly, let me qualify that submission does not make a woman oppressed, as humans on this earth, we submit ourselves on a daily basis to the laws that govern us, the schools we educate ourselves at and to the authority of our parents (to some degree)...it merely allows for the smooth operation in the business of the home.  I generally take such difficulties and try to meet them head on.  In regards to my lack of submission, my home was not peaceful. I was unhappy and frustrated.  There desperately had to be a change.  Besides, I was told marriage was the closest thing to heaven on earth.  At that point in my marriage I felt very far from heaven. I wanted to find the most effect way...So when it came to combating the feminist within (feminism is just another complicated term for selfishness), I went straight to the very source of recovery...the Bible.  After seeking truth from there I then went to someone who had travelled the road of wife hood a little further and who could honestly say they had and have a heavenly marriage. Thankfully, I had a very dear friend who gave me a book most women  would definitely scoff at, for the principals discussed there in are in no way "progressive".   Now granted I didn't take everything in the book for advice but for the most part after reading the book, I was thoroughly schooled in what it was that I needed to do to help in the area of my lack of submission in my home.  I consider myself a feminist on the road to recovery, I am slowly discovering the very perfect femininity as designed by the Creator Himself.  I consider myself a "Progressive" Housewife.  For the past almost 5 years, I can see a change in my very reactive behavior; I see "progression" towards the positive. This is no doubt due the the rediscovery of womanhood as defined by the perfect Word, the Bible.  I must accredit this change to the Lord Himself...for if you know me, you know that that "progression" truly does take a miracle!

Here is something that I have hanging on my refrigerator to help me remember things in relation to what my purpose is in my marriage.

{The ABC's of Being a Good Help Meet (taken from, the book, Created to Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl)}

Ladies, shall we learn our ABCs?

A-Admit when Your Wrong,
B-Be positive,
C-Cuddle,
D-Do it his way (a very hard thing for me to do at times),
E-Encourage Him,
F-Fix his breakfast (or dinner if he doesn't eat breakfast),
G-Give back rubs,
H-Hug often,
I-"I love you" should be said many times daily,
J-Joke around,
K-Know his needs,
L-Listen to him,
M-Manage you home well,
N-Never hold grudges,
O-Open your eyes in the morning and smile,
P-Pray for him,
Q-Quit nagging him (OOOps!!),
R-Reminisce about good time,
S-Show respect and honor,
T-Trust, and earn his trust,
U-Understand his need for reverence,
V-Vulnerability is a feminine trait; cultivate it (OOOps again!!)
W-Wink at him,
X-well....you know :),
Y-Yearn to please him,
Z-Zealously guard him with your love

Slow Cooking and My Independent Baby....

For me, when I plan to do a slow cook meal I get excited and if it actually turns out good, I get even more happy.  I like knowing that when we get home from church there is minimal preparation for lunch to be ready...so far, for the past two weeks, I've done slow cook meals.  The Sunday before last I made a pork roast, and did it ever turn out tender.  The best part of that roast was the left overs when I did pulled pork sandwiches on pita bread with BBQ sauce.  This week I decided to try a variation of my dad's "Indian" stew with some added ingredients from a recipe I pulled from online.  I forgot my crock pot at church last week because of the chili cook off so I had to use my oven and a pot.  I was a little worried the whole morning that it was going to be a complete disaster...but when we pulled up to the house and I opened the door to my kitchen the sweet savor of beef stew wafted to my semi clogged nose (I've inherited the Buchko sinus problems)...I opened the oven door and took the pot out and tasted the beef, it just melted in my mouth and the flavor was perfect.  Even Michael was impressed.  This is definitely a dish I would be proud of making for his parents.  It feels good to be able to cook good things.  This part of my domestication has been a work in progress....but I'm learning and it's actually paying off.

Bella has decided altogether this week to not sit in the high chair.  One day last week I tried to put her in and she started crying and started pointing at the table where Lizzie was sitting.  I figured out that she wanted to sit at the table like a big girl.  I proceeded to feed her her cereal and she wouldn't have it.  She has decided that she wants to feed herself as well.  This can prove to be a little tedious for the control freak, who likes messes to be very little.  Because of my impulse to clean, I was picking up every cheerio that was falling...this seemed ludicrous and I finally gave into a little mess.  I just figure that by the time baby number 3 comes along, she'll be a pro at feeding herself.  She is so independent!!
Here are some pictures of her "eating" by herself...

Another cute thing Bella does is that she loves to wave at anything and everything that goes by!  Random cars driving passed us when we are out taking a walk in our neighborhood.  She'll wave at complete strangers in the grocery store.  And of course, everyone at church.  This really is sweet.  It kind of makes up for the fact that Lizzie does not say hello to anybody!!  I tell people that she's really not rude...can you train your 3 year old to say hello to people?  We are having such a hard time with this!!! Here are some Pics of Bella waving "Hello"

A Little Old Fashioned...

I have located on my refrigerator, a church bulletin cover that says "Be still and know that I am God"  Lately, I haven't stood still to just enjoy some blog time...I thought today would be a great day to do just that!

We are having old fashioned Sunday at our church today.  It's a part of our Fall Program...so far it's been quite fun.  Michael was teased today because of his choice of what he considered old fashioned.  If you weren't born in the decade doesn't that mean it's old fashioned? LoL...I'll post pictures and maybe you can decide what decade he's from...the girls and I chose a different century...

The family had a great time preparing for this Sunday in what we were going to wear.  We went to several thrift stores.  Even Michael participated and shopped around. Originally, he wanted to do something completely different but when he came across his outfit he couldn't pass it up!!  Lizzie's dress I found by accident and the dress I'm wearing I found at a thrift store in PA a year ago. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything for Bella....maybe next year!

After the service tonight there is a chili cook-off, Michael entered last year and won 3rd place.  I fully expect him to get 1st this year!! His chili is amazing!

Here's Michael, what decade do you think?

My sweet Lizzie Lou!!

Bella Bear and Me!!

Mike's Chili.....YUUMMM!