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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Work Day, Adventures in Babysitting, Day of Rest, Around the World & Recipe of the Week: Mexican Casserole

I've been a busy bee lately. Friday was a work day. Nothing too exciting there.

Saturday, I cleaned house in the morning and then Matt and I did a little shopping. First we grabbed a bite, then went to Other Mothers and New Destinations Thrift store in Wooster. I found some Easter baskets for nephew number four that will be arriving March 16th. My mom fixes Easter baskets and so do I for the boys (my nephews). Then, we headed to Lodi Station Outlets. It is an outlet mall. I was looking for chrome or stainless steel cooling racks and was having no luck anywhere else. There is a store there called Kitchen Collection. I figured if anyone would have them, Kitchen Collection would, and they did. I'm a sucker for kitchen gadgets and this store has tons. I told Matt, "I could drop a lot of money in this store..." He agreed that I probably could. We checked out a couple of baby stores and some shoe stores, but didn't find anything. Then, we were off to my friend Peggy's house. It was Peggy's birthday and she and her hubby (Scott Rixson of Scott Rixson Custom Guitars--check out the link) were going out with friends for dinner. Matt and I were going to watch their two kids. No major catastrophies. Matt and I had fun. I think their girls did too. So did Peggy and Scott.

Sunday was another day of rest. Church in the morning, afternoon with my parents. We cut the afternoon short to get back to Wooster and meet up with Stan, the guy I milk cows for. Matt and he had some business to attend to. I was able to catch the tail-end of milking and feed the calves. There were three calves to feed and they were hungry! I was practically mauled! They were trying to nurse off of my pants or anywhere they could! Al, Stan's hired man, came to my rescue and helped with crowd control. After milking, we went to visit Matt's dad and watched the closing ceremonies of the olympics.

Yesterday was very busy. I had a chiropractor appointment in the morning and errands to run after that. I had Tuffy scheduled for an ultrasound, of the bulgy muscle Dr. Amity found, at one o'clock in Berlin. On my way to the vet, I stopped at the Country Pantry and got Matt some lunch meat and cheese. I was a little ahead of schedule, so I took some back roads into Berlin and snapped some photos of Amish farms. I love the peacefulness of the farms and fields in Winter. Soon, God will paint these sleeping fields and pastures in the lush greens of Spring--views I never tire of!




I got to the clinic at about 10 minutes to one. I got in right away and Dr. Amity let me watch the ultrasound. I Rubbed Tuff's chest to keep him calm through the ordeal. He has a fatty tumor (lypoma) that is running between the muscles on the inside of his right rear leg. Dr. Amity said the location is more rare for this type of tumor to occur, but nothing needs to be done at this time. I just have to keep an eye on it and see if it changes. If it gets too big, or get's in his way, then it may have to be removed. But, no action needed now. She took a fine needle aspiration (FNA) to be sure it was what she thought it was. The cytology showed fat. I was relieved. Tuff wanted to be done and back in the car. I picked up some meds for the yeast infection Dr. Amity suspected and confirmed that Tuff had in his ears and we were off. I stopped at Nature's Food Market and picked up a few things. Then, we headed to my parent's.

Our church was having a Women's Fellowship meeting at 6:30 PM and mom and I were going to go. So, I hung out at Mom and Dad's till then and then Mom and I went to the meeting. We had the business meeting first and then we made a no-sew fleece blanket to have on hand for any new babies in the church. Mom and I got back to her house around 8:45 PM. I chatted a bit and then headed back to Wooster. I got home a little after 10:00 PM.

Recipe of the Week: Mexican Casserole
courtesy Peggy Rixson and Renee Schaaf

My friend Peggy gave me the original recipe and I put my spin on it.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. Bob Evan's Zesty Hot Sausage
1 medium onion, diced
1 14.5 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, divided
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/16 tsp. red pepper
1 tsp. dried cilantro
1-2 Tbsp. honey
2 cups salsa
8 oz. block sharp cheddar cheese, cut into thirds
6 8-inch flour tortillas

In a large saucepan, brown ground beef and sausage until cooked. Drain any grease. Add onion, black beans, half the can of tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, red pepper, cilantro and honey. Stir and let simmer until onions are tender. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl add salsa and remaining tomatoes, stir and set aside.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Take two tortillas and tear them each in half. Place tortilla pieces in the pan with strait sides on the sides of the pan. Layer 1/3 of the meat mixture, 1/2 the salsa mixture and shred 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat. For the final layer, spread the remaining meat mixture and shred the remaining 1/3 of cheese. Bake uncovered in 450 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let sit five minutes before cutting. Serve with sour cream.

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Gone But Not Forgotten...

Even though you may be gone from this earth, you will always live on in our hearts!

Roscoe

Roscoe
A good walking buddy and awesome frisbee catcher! Life cut short by a brain tumor.

Tuffy

Tuffy
If ever there was a candidate for Dog Heaven, it would be Tuff. Tuff was put to rest December 7, 2012. At almost 14 years old, he threw the longevity curve for dogs of his breed-makeup and size. He battled 2 types of cancer and Cushing's Disease as well as arthritis. Faithful to the end and never grumpy, depite the constant care and nagging from me. Always the protector, gentleman and companion--you will be sorely missed by all who had the opportunity to know you.

Cranky Thomas

Cranky Thomas
Ever wonder why it's called "Life On CT Farm"? The horse you see in the pictures is Cranky Thomas, a registered quarter horse gelding. He was born May 5, 1980 in Galion, Alabama and passed away August 3, 2004 on CT Farm--his farm. He originally belonged to my husband, but I adopted him and I think he adopted me. We competed together in contest classes at local horse shows. But, an old injury finally slowed him down and I retired him in 2000. He was a loving and patient being that I completely trusted and admired. There will never be another like him, never. He meant so much to me that I named our farm after him as well as my company, Cranky T. LLC. He's gone now, but is still with me and now you.

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