Merry Christmas from the Wards

The Twins Love Christmas!

Pictures with Santa

Family Picture

I apologize for not posting sooner.  Life just has away of throwing a curve ball at you.  Things are better now, but it was a bit rough there for a bit.  Now we have hospital bills, but I'll worry about that after the first of the year.  Right now, it's just time to have fun with my family during this holiday season!  Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mexican Fried Okra Recipe

                     MEXICAN FRIED OKRA

2 lbs.               Okra, sliced

3/4 cup           Flour

                        Salt to taste

1 med.            Sweet Bell Pepper, minced

1 med.            Sweet onion, minced

1                      Jalapeno pepper, minced

3                      Fresh tomatoes, chopped

Roll sliced okra in flour and place in hot skillet with oil to fry.  Add salt.  Add bell pepper, onion, and Jalapeno

pepper.  Cover. Turn occasionally until almost done.  Add tomatoes just before okra is done.  Finish cooking.

                                                 Grandma Eleanor Lowe

Baked French Toast Recipe

BAKED FRENCH TOAST

1stick  (½ cup) margarine or butter

6          Eggs

½ tsp.  Salt

1 cup   Brown sugar

2 cups Milk

1 tsp.   Cinnamon

1loaf    French bread

Cut bread into 1" slices.  Melt butter.  Mix in sugar.  Beat eggs, add milk, salt, and cinnamon.  Add to butter and sugar and mix.  Put cut French bread in large pans.  Pour mixture over the bread in pan.  Cover and let sit overnight.  The next morning bake in 325* degree oven at least 1 hour

Potato Pancake Recipe

POTATO PANCAKES

4          Potatoes, grated

4          Boiled, potatoes, mashed

2          Eggs

1 T.      Flour

2 sm.   Onions, grated

1/4 c.   Milk

½ cup  Oil

½ tsp.  Pepper

            Salt to taste

Mix potatoes in a bowl and add eggs and bat with a spoon.  Add flour, salt, pepper, onion and milk and stir until all the ingredients are well mixed.  Heat oil in a frying pan.  Drop 2 large spoonfuls of mixture and spread them.  Cook for four minutes on each side till the pancakes are brown and crisp.  Serve hot with sauce.

Young and in Love

I love scraping in monochromatic colors.  It can be the theme of your pages or as in this case just the coordinating back drop.

This is my mom.  This is my favorite picture of her.  Ever.  I just think she was so beautiful.  

Here she is laying on her bed in her dorm room at college and looking at a picture of her childhood sweetheart.  The picture that she is holding is the same picture  you see below.  Oh to be that young again!

(By the way, that's my dad she's gazing at so lovingly!)

Until the next scrapbook page...

G

Ward Woods Wildlife

We have bats!  Yes, we do.  Came home from Walgreens one day to find this hanging from our mosquito netting.

I don't know what kind of bat it is.  Anyone know?  Fortunately it was on the outside of the netting. 

Until Bud tried to catch it.

Now it's on the inside of the netting.

We never did catch it or see it fly out of the front porch.  I'm always wondering if that things is lurking somewhere on the porch.  Under the kid's picnic table?  Under the lounge chair?  Under the chair I sit in?

We have spiders, too.  These grandaddy long legs nest right by the front door. Maybe the bat will eat them?  One can only hope....

In this picture, they are still.  What  you don't see is the whole mass pulsating.  It's just freaky!

We also have hawks.  This baby got caught in the mosquito netting.  Pretty thing.

I've got my eye on you!

Ignore the clutter please.. Focus on the bird.

One the plus side, it seems we have fewer squirrels this year.

You're free little hawk.  Fly away!

In addition to the bat, the spiders, the hawk, squirrels, raccoons, possums, yellow crowned night herons, owls and other assorted birds, I found this black beauty asleep on our porch.

I think she's hiding from the hawk.  She must have heard about my friends cat.  They just live a few miles from our neck of the woods.  Katie (the cat) was sunning herself by the patio door and suddenly WHAMSMACK!  A hawk flew right into the glass patio door.  Sat dazed on the ground for a while before it flew off.  I think Katie is still hiding somewhere in their house.  She doesn't want to be dinner.

What wildlife do you have at your house?

G

Ruth's Granola Recipe

RUTH’S GRANOLA

1-3 lb.             Box of Old fashioned oats

½ tsp.              Salt

1 jar                 Wheat germ

1 lb.                 Unsweetened coconut

5 oz.                Sunflower seeds

2 ½ lbs.           Variety of nuts such as sliced almonds, chopped pecans and walnuts.

1 1/3 c.           Water

3/4 c.               Honey

2 cups             Vegetable oil

2 T.                  Vanilla flavoring

6 T.                  Maple flavoring

Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly by hand.  In another container mix together, water and honey until honey is dissolved.  Add oil (may want to reduce this amount of oil) and flavorings to water/honey mixture.  Stir.  Begin pouring liquid ingredients onto dry ingredients; one half at a time.  Mix thoroughly, best by hand.  Finish pouring liquid on and mix thoroughly.  Spread on cookie sheets and bake for 3 to 4 hours in a 225* degree oven.  DO NOT STIR!  Store in sealed containers.

This recipe is a favorite of many.   

Hot Wassail Punch Recipe

HOT WASSAIL PUNCH

2 qts.               Apple cider

1 cup               Lemon juice

2 cups             Orange juice

2 cups             Pineapple juice

1 stick             Cinnamon

1 doz.              Cloves

Tie spices in bag and add to fruit juices.  Bring to a boil then turn heat down and simmer slowly for a few minutes.  Remove spices before serving.  Serve hot.

Serves 10 to 12.

Pumpkin Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

PUMPKIN DUTCH APPLE PIE

(Yield - 1 pie)

            Apple Layer

2 cups             Medium green apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 apples)

1/4 cup           Granulated Sugar

1                      Lemon juice

1/4 tsp.           Ground cinnamon

1                      un-baked 9 inch pie shell with high fluted edge.

Toss apples with sugar, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon in medium bowl; place in pie shell.

            Crumble Topping

½ cup              Flour

5 T.                  Granulated sugar

3 T.                  Butter, softened

1/3 cup           Walnuts, chopped

Mix crumble topping with pastry blended until crumbly.

            Pumpkin Layer

1                      Egg, slightly beaten

1½ cup           Solid pack pumpkin (1can)

1 can               Un-diluted Carnation evaporated milk

½ cup              Granulated sugar

2 T.                  Butter or margarine, melted

3/4 tsp.           Ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp.           Ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp.           Salt

Combine egg, pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl; pour over apples.

Bake in preheated 375* degree oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven; sprinkle with Crumble Topping.  Return to oven; bake for 20 minutes or until custard is set.  Cool on wire rack.

Pat's Apple Pie Recipe

PAT’S APPLE PIE

(Yield-1 pie)   2 Pie crusts, uncooked

1 lb.     Apples, peeled and sliced thin

1 T.      Lemon juice

1 cup   Sugar

4 T.     Cornstarch

1 tsp.   Cinnamon

Dash   Salt

Dash   Nutmeg

2 T.      Butter or margarine

            Raisins - optional

Mix sliced apples, hand ful of raisins, lemon juice, sugar. cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt all together and place in un baked pie shell.  Dot top with the butter.  Cover pie with second un baked crust cut slits in top crust and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown at 375* degrees.

This is one of my (mom's) favorite pie recipes.                   

Halloween Bon Fire

There's just something about fire that's so mesmerizing. 

As I sat by the fire tonight and gazed into the bright flames,  I let myself be still  and listen to the wonderful sounds of numerous family conversations going at once.   Laughter abounds as children run about with masks seeking to scare some unsuspecting family member.  The wolf mask goes really well with the princess dress, don't you think?

It was the perfect night.  Just cool enough to sit close to the fire, and warm enough that you didn't freeze if you were doing something away from the fire.

Gaze deeper into the flames.  You're content to not move.  Stuffed full of good food and soda. Life is good.

 Now for smores and hot chocolate.  What more could you ask for?  Life is very good.

G

Squash With Cheese Sauce

SQUASH WITH CHEESE SAUCE

1med              Onion, slivered, separated

½ med            Green Bell pepper, in chunks

½ med            Red Bel pepper, in chunks

1 sm.               Zucchini squash, sliced

2 sm.               Yellow summer squash, sliced

1can                Water chestnuts, slivered

2 tsp.               Garlic, minced (Gina likes lots of garlic)

! can                Mild Rol Tel Tomatoes or 1 chopped jalapeno pepper and  plain diced tomatoes.  If too hot use just the plain diced tomatoes.

½ lb.                Velveeta cheese

½ cup              Sour cream.

Sauté onion, peppers and squash and chestnuts in order given.  DO NOT OVERCOOK.  Vegetables still need to be crisp.  While squash is still crisp, add garlic, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream.  Simmer for a few minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  Watch carefully to keep from scorching.       Ruth Buckmaster

This recipe is one of Gina’s and many others’s favorite. I first ate this squash dish at a Lubby’s Cafeteria while dining with Mother.  We sat there until I had figured out what all was in it and the rest is history.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

1-1/4 lb           Sweet Potatoes ( 2 or 3)

1 ½ c.              Water

½ cup              Brown Sugar

2 T.                  Cornstarch

½ cup              White Karo syrup

2 drps             Red food coloring

1/4 cup           Butter, melted

½  tsp.             Salt or to taste

Partially bake sweet potatoes in a conventionally oven for 15 to 25 minutes or microwave for about 5 minutes.. Cool.  Peel and slice and place in oiled baking dish.  In separate small container mix cornstarch  with the brown sugar.  Mix well.  Add water and syrup and food coloring and salt and melted butter. Mix well.  Pour over potatoes and bake uncovered in 350*F degree oven for 1 hour.

                                          Ruth Buckmaster

    

This recipe is one of BJ’s favorite.

Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

2 med.            Eggplants

2                      Eggs, slightly beaten

½ cup              Milk, add to egg

1½ cup           Shake or bake or bread crumbs of choice.

                        (May need more crumbs)

1 can               Hunt’s (no sugar added) Spaghetti sauce or you may want to make your own spaghetti sauce.  See the Sauce section.

1 cup               Parmesan cheese. shredded

1 cup               Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Peel and slice eggplant in half inch pieces, salt lightly and stack.  Then dip each slice in egg and milk mixture and then into crumbs.  Either fry in hot oil or bake in a 350* degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until tender and brown, turning once.  Place eggplant slices into a  9x12 baking dish, alternating with the spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese saving some of the mozzarella cheese for topping the last 10 minutes of baking.   Bake for 20 to 30 in a 350* degree oven.

                                                          Ruth Buckmaster

Dad's Potato Salad Recipe

DAD’S POTATO SALAD

5-6lbs.            Potatoes

2 lg.                 Onions, minced

½ cup              Salad Green Olives with pimientos, chopped

3/4 cup           Sweet relish

2 tsp.               Salt

½ cup              Celery, minced, optional

½ cup              Green peppers, minced, optional

½ tsp.              Celery seeds

1 cup               Miracle Whip

                        Paprika

Peel, chunk and boil potatoes until done.  Add all other ingredients and mix well.  Top with paprika.  Chill overnight in refrigerator before serving.

                                                     Stanley Buckmaster

This recipe is all the children’s favorite!  

Fresh Corn Salad Recipe

FRESH CORN SALAD

4 cups             Fresh or frozen corn

1/4 cup           Vegetable oil or olive oil

1/3 cup           Cider vinegar

1½ tsp.           Lemon juice

1/4 c.               Minced fresh parsley

1 tsp.               Salt

2 tsp.               Sugar

½ tsp.              Basil

2 lg.                 Tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped

½ cup              Onion, chopped

½ cup              Green pepper

1/3 cup           Sweet red pepper

Cook fresh or frozen corn for 5-7 minutes or until tender.  Drain.  In a large bowl, mix the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, parsley, sugar, salt, if desired, and basil.  Add corn, tomatoes, onion and peppers to the oil mixture.  Mix well. Cover and chill for several hours or overnight.

Halloween and Mystery

At Halloween, it's time to talk about mysteries.  If you know me, you know I love to read (or watch ) mysteries.  I've gone from Nancy Drew to Janet Evanovich.  Truth be told, I've been known to still read a Nancy Drew.  It's like visiting an old friend.  It reminds me of one of my childhood friends, Carol.  We both loved Nancy Drew.  We would, on occasion, be desperate enough to read a Hardy Boys book.  But mostly we read Nancy Drew.  Do you still have all those Nancy Drew books, Carol?

My favorite mysteries are now Janet Evanovich.  Janet has even written a Plum Spooky novel to just help you get into the spirit of Halloween.  Her books are a mystery and a comedy all in one!  She truly makes me laugh out loud.  Especially number 10.  But it's best to start with number 1:  One for the Money. 

Her Stephanie Plum series is about, you guessed it, Stephanie, a not so competent bounty hunter.  The range of characters will keep you reading the series.  From the hot cop to the dark and dangerous security consultant.  And let's not forget the crazy for food, always on some new made up diet, gun toting ex-hooker who helps get Stephanie out of or, in a lot of cases, into trouble.  But its Grandma Mazur that will make you laugh the most.  Everything goes with grandma!   Go to the library.  Borrow it from a friend.  Click on the link to the right to order it from Amazon.    Do whatever you have to do to read it.  You'll love it!  I'd loan you mine, but someone has already taken it.

And talk about mystery, some day I'll tell you the story of the time everyone was gone except for myself and my mother and someone was trying to break into the house.  Until then, happy reading!

G

EVERYTHING

I love this video for more than one reason.

1.  They're dancing to our family song, Everything by Michael Buble.  This has been our song since we first laid eyes on them before we adopted them.

2.  It's the quietest they've been all day and

3.  They're just toooooo cute! I just love these munchkins! *tear*sniff*

G

Halloween Costumes

The kids are so ready for Halloween!  For two months they've been asking about Halloween. 
Every night.  Get that?  Every night!
"Halloween tomorrow Momma?"
"No Baby.  Not yet."
"It takin' toooo long Momma."
I agree.  Let's get it done. 

It's fun, don't get me wrong, but we watch only Netflix in the evening right now.  Too many Halloween specials airing every night now until Halloween.  One thing I don't need is one more reason why the kids are up all night.  Savannah hates the night.  Any ideas to help her not be so scared of the dark?

Anyway, here's my precious babies all dressed up and ready for Halloween.  Nothing scary.  Someone to save the world and someone to make it much more beautiful!

Life is grand!

G

Vegetable Cheese Soup Recipe

VEGETABLE CHEESE SOUP

6 cups Water

7 cups Potatoes, diced

1 cup   Carrots, diced

1 cup   Onions, diced

6 tsp.   McKay’s Chicken Seasoning

10 oz.  frozen broccoli, chopped

2 cups Milk

1 cup   Sour cream

1 ½ lb  Velveeta cheese spread

8 oz.    Rol-Tel tomatoes & chilies or canned diced tomatoes.

            Salt to taste

Cook potatoes, carrots, onions in the water with McKay’s chicken seasoning.  After they have cooked, add the chopped broccoli that has been thawing while vegetables cooked.

Cook for a few minutes longer until broccoli is tender; then add milk, sour cream, Velveeta cheese and Rol-Tel  tomatoes and chilies.  (If you think the Rol-Tel would make it too hot for some people then use plain canned diced tomatoes.)  Refrigerate overnight and warmed the next day makes it more flavorful.

                                                                                      Linda Knutson

 

This recipe is a favorite of many friends and family.

Vegeburger Recipe

MOM’S VEGEBURGERS

10 lg.               Hamburger buns          

1 can                Worthington vegeburger

3                      Eggs, maybe a fourth

1 med.            Onion, minced

1/4 tsp.           Garlic powder

1 tsp.               Sage, maybe more, depending on taste

3 drops           Liquid Smoke. To much will ruin this recipe,

                        but it is the secret for a good vegeburger.

1 tsp.               White pepper, optional

½ cup              Flour, approximately more or less, enough to have a sticky consistency

Combine all ingredients except buns and mix well.  You might want to drop just a small amount of mixture on hot grill or skillet and cook to see if patty holds together well.  If not, add the extra egg or more flour.  Then cook rest of patties by forming patties on hot grill or skillet.  Turn over after top of patty is almost dry.  Do not overcook.  Serve hot on toasted buns with mayonnaise, (Dad says Miracle Whip), mustard, lettuce, sliced onions, tomatoes, sliced dill pickles or sweet relish.                                  Ruth Buckmaster

This recipe is a favorite of all the family

AuntG's Note:  This is the most requested recipe.