Out To Lunch

Well, if I'm not already crazy enough, the next week or so is gonna surely put me in the nut house. I've got relatives coming in, other ones to visit, appointments out the wazoo, and kids to get ready for school, which starts way too early IMHO. As a result, I'm going to take a short blog break. I'm hoping that once everything settles, I will have lots a great recipes to share because if nothing else, I plan on eating as much as possible to deal with the stress!

Getting To Know You

Country Dew (Blue Country Magic) had this on her blog the other day and if you read my blog with any regularity, you know I can't resist a meme!
Please feel free to copy this to your blog and let me get to know you too!

1. What time did you get up this morning: 6 am

2. How do you like your steak? Well done

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Up- it was surprisingly good

4. What is your favorite TV show? Of all time- Star Trek. Right now- NCIS

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Virginia

6. What did you have for breakfast? Chocolate Little Bites

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Pizza (I'm so gourmet!)

8. What foods do you dislike? Fish

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Hyeholde, here in Pittsburgh

10. Favorite dressing? Blue cheese

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? Honda Odyssey

12. What are your favorite clothes? Blue jeans

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? England

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 empty but on some days 1/2 full, esp. when I'm insightful enough to appreciate my blessings

15. Where would you want to retire? Virginia

16. Favorite time of day? evening

17. Where were you born? Oklahoma

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? Not sure

20. Bird watcher? Not really

21. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning

22. Do you have any pets? dogs, cat, hamsters, gerbils, and fish

23. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? My brother is coming home from Cuba (where he is stationed) for a visit next week. And he's bringing my neice and nephew. Can't wait to see them!

24. What did you want to be when you were little? Brain surgeon but I ended up being a therapist, a different kind of brain surgeon :)

25. What is your best childhood memory? going to VA beach on vacation

26. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog

27. Are you married? Yes

28. Do you always wear your seat belt? Yes

29. Been in a car accident? Many. I was once hit by a postal truck. Try getting money you are owed from the postal service. I find it amazing they even give us our mail they are so tightfisted!

30. Any pet peeves? People who love themselves more than others. Rude people

31. Favorite pizza topping? Pineapple

32. Favorite Flower? carnation

33. Favorite ice cream? Chocolate Raspberry Truffle from Bruster's. They closed the only store we had here and there are no others close by :(

34. Favorite fast food restaurant? Subway

35. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Never

36. From whom did you get your last email? My father

37. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Wal-Mart

38. Do anything spontaneous lately? Got my ears pierced again. Now I have two holes in each ear and not enough earrings!

39. Like your job? Yes

40. Broccoli? raw and steamed. Yum

41. Kids? Three, trying to adopt another

42. Last person you went out to dinner with? family

43. What are you listening to right now? darn flies buzzing around my house

44. What is your favorite color? blue

45. How many tattoos do you have? None. Thought about it but too worried I'd end up not liking it

46. What time did you finish this quiz? 2:53 p.m.

47. Coffee Drinker? sometimes

The Tomato Sandwich

Although our tomatoes are not ready yet, I have been yearning for tomato sandwiches. The tomatoes in the stores have that wonderful summer taste and ripen up so juicy and delicious. There are so many ways you can dress up this sandwich, but I think I will keep to the basic tasty recipe. It's just too good!

Tomato Sandwich

2 slices of regular or good quality white bread

1/2 cup mayo or salad dressing

salt and pepper to taste

1 ripe tomato

Spread the mayo on each slice of bread. Cut the tomato to fit bread or if you have a smaller tomato, cut 2 to 3 slices and fit onto bread. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover with other slice of bread and cut sandwich in half, if desired. Serve.

You can also toast the bread, which is also delicious.

"A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins."

-Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking

Thursday Thirteen- Kennywood

Yesterday, we went to a local amusement park called Kennywood. It was a rainy day but we took a chance and went anyway. We were rewarded with an almost empty park, all to ourselves! Although Kennywood ended up closing early due to low attendence, we enjoyed the heck out of ourselves. Here are 13 highlights of the day:


This ride, called the Swing Shot, scares the crap out of me! There are two arms that swing people back and forth, pretty high in the air. As it swings, it makes a very loud grinding sound that sounds like one of those movie monsters roaring. Ugh, no thanks!

This is one of the newer coasters Kennywood put in. My oldest loves this ride.

Here is a look down the track of the Phantom's Revenge.

The Wave Swinger. A nice, traditional ride.

I have never understood the need to put oneself very high in the air and free fall drop out of the sky. That is what parachute jumping is for, not an amusement park ride called the Pit Fall! Not for the faint of heart for sure.

The Pittsburgh Plunge. I have to admit, this is a fun ride. Water rides are always my favorite. This one just has one very steep hill that lets off a big splash. The bonus is that you can soak most of the non-riders too if they stand in the right spot :)

Ahh, the train. As I get older, this ride becomes more appealing. Did I really just say that? Anyway, when your feet are killing you from walking, it's a nice break. As you go around looking at the sites, a narrator talks about the history of Pittsburgh and Kennywood.

It's hard to believe that mills like this one used to be all over Pittsburgh, causing the city to be thought of as the "Smoky City". I didn't live here during those times, and I'm sure glad of it. This was taken while on the train ride.

This is Kiddie Land. I took it just to show how empty the place really was.

Matter or fact, it was so slow this employee decided to take advantage and take a nap!

Even the ducks decided it was safe enough to come out for a walk!

One of three wooden coasters still in action at Kennywood. This one is the Racer. One red and one blue coaster have been racing each other for years now. I'm not sure anyone knows which one wins the most.

The Log Jammer. This ride was always a favorite of mine, and now it's my kids' favorite. This is my oldest and youngest getting in just one more ride before the park closed for the day.

Fresh Raspberry Cobbler

Ever since I was young, I wished I could own a house with fruit trees and bushes all around my yard. The idea of picking my own fruit and making delicious desserts made me feel giddy with anticipation. So when we bought our current home, I immediately began looking for fruit trees and bushes that would grow in PA. I took a risk and bought wild raspberry bushes from a guy in NC. The first few years they didn't do much and most of the fruit was sour. But this year, the fruit was plentiful and sweet. Suddenly, I needed a good recipe to use for all the raspberries we have been picking in the last few weeks. Although raspberry cobbler is not a common thing, I decided to try it anyway. It worked! Even if you use store bought raspberries, this recipe is worth a try.

Fresh Raspberry Cobbler

1 stick of butter

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

3/4 cup self rising flour

3/4 cup milk

2 to 3 cups fresh raspberries, cleaned throughly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the stick of butter into a square baking dish. Put into the oven and let melt, being careful not to burn.

In a small pot, place raspberries and 1/2 cup of sugar. Add a few tablespoons of water and stir. Let come to a low boil, stirring as needed for one minute. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, the flour and the milk. Mix well until there are no lumps.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and add the batter. Do not stir! Strain the raspberries and add them over the batter mix. Do not stir! Drizzle about 1/2 cup of the raspberry syrup, again do not stir. Place in oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Tip: use the remaining raspberry syrup in iced tea. Very good!

“Southern cooking, a lot of pies, cakes, cobbler, stuff like that - kind of what I'm used to, being from Texas."
-Adrian Moss

Happy 10th To My Girl!

Happy birthday, sweetheart! You make me so proud. I hope you have a wonderful time turning 10!

What Kind Of Fast Food Are You?

I was a donut. I sure hope it was a Krispy Kreme donut! What fast food are you?

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindoffastfoodareyouquiz/