New Floors!

We still have to put the trim back on and move most of the furnitire back in, but we love our new floors. Yeah! Too tired to post too much - going to bed.

New Floor is Almost Here

Thankful for good people in our lives. Caroline, Joanna, John and Jason helped us pull carpeting and all the staples on Saturday. Yesterday Bill helped Pat get rid of the linoleum in the kitchen AND after calling Amy they are having our dinner at their house this week.

I've been busy cutting and applying felt on all the furniture. Should finish that today after Weight Watchers and the dentist.

Stuffed Squash

Great make ahead meal. I cut acorn squash in half. Sprinkled with salt, pepper and sage. Placed face down on parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Baked 400 til done. Mine took 40 minutes.

While cooking. Take Turkey sausage out of casing. Add salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash. Brown. Blot grease with paper towel. Add 1 large onion diced, one apple diced. Add 3 wedges Jalapeno Laughing Cow Cheese. Stir to melt. Divide evenly into four containers. Refrigerate.

Take squash out, cool, place in refrigerator.

When ready to cook for dinner empty a container of sausage into each squash half. Bake 350 until warmed through.

This was delicious. Served with couscous made with wine, zucchini, 1 cup navy beans. Garlic,Italian Herbs, Parsley, salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, rosemary.

Night Visions

Our trees have yellow lights shining on them until 11:00 each night. I like laying on my side looking out the bedroom door, down the hall, out the sliding glass doors, onto the porch, over the railing.

This is what I see. I love it.

45th

It was cold! I put a reminder for next year to bring gloves! But we had a great time and the sunrises and moonshine were spectacular. (No moon on Saturday Night.) I was sad the phone wouldn't pick up the deep orange of the Sunrise on Sunday. It was hazy so we could look right at it.

Apple Pie!

I did it!
This is Michigan... This is September... This is a piece of 4 SP Apple Pie! Yum!

I knew if I only did a top crust I could reduce the points. I made the crust first. I wanted to only use 3/4 cup of flour (9) and 6 TBS light butter (20), 1/4 tsp salt and enough ice water to make it combine into a ball. But I ran into a problem with not enough ingredients to make the food processor work. So I used 1 cup of flour and 7 TBS of butter. After combining the crust I patted it into a pile and covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.

I used 10 small to medium apples and I had 2 large apples that I threw in to use them up. 2 TBS sugar (6) and 2 tsp cinnamon. Sliced the apples very thin. Sprinkled the sugar and cinnamon over and mixed well so all slices were covered.

I used a 8x12 rectangle Pyrex dish. Piled the apples high in it and rolled out the crust. I rolled it thin leaving it thicker on the edges. After placing the crust on the apples I cut off a couple inches all around. Bringing the ingredients back down to 3/4 cup of flour and 6 TBS butter!

I baked it at 400° for 40 minutes. I cut it into 8 pieces. 1 piece 4 SP and it was delicious. The crust was buttery and flaky. The apples were tart and a little sweet. This is one of the reasons I love September in Michigan and I was determined to make it point friendly.

Trader Joe's

I sure wish we had a Trader Joe's close by - we made a quick trip to Ann Arbor yesterday morning.  The people are so friendly in that store.  Workers go up and down the aisle asking if you need help.  The customers are trading recipe's and stories.  So many people were from out of town.  Our nephew, Ben works there, but he is an afternoon guy and we always go in the morning.  We especially wanted to get out of the traffic for the holiday weekend.  Made it home before it got too busy.

Thankfully, I restrained from buying too much.  Our freezer closed, barely!

Not much going on this weekend.  Carolina Moon Keeps Shining is coming over to give me a pedicure and to help me clean out the toys in the toy box - way too many in there.

The rest of the weekend is just sitting on the porch - if it gets warm enough - it was freezing yesterday!

Peanut Butter Parfait

I never thought in a million years that I would use powdered peanut butter... good thing I didn't bet on it!

This was delicious

3 Bananas sliced
1 8oz FF Cool Whip
6 TBS PB2
2 TBS Unsweetened Cocoa

Mix Cool Whip with PB2 and cocoa. Layer this with sliced bananas.

Started Marketing Today

I've been slacking on marketing - you all know how much I hate it!!!!

But I've been going to blogs and sending out books for reviews.

Say some prayers for good reviews!!!

Pa Shaltry's Potato Soup goes on a Diet

Yum... Lots of veggies brings the points down. Used less ham than usual and the butter was 1/4 of what I used to use. But I used whole milk for the soup to be creamy.

It was delicious. I could taste the butter and the consistency was great. 7 Smart Points for 1 1/2 cups. This makes 12 servings.

Pa Shaltry's Potato Soup goes on a Diet

8 medium potatoes
1 large onion diced
1 stalk of celery about 8 ribs diced
1 small bag of small carrots cut
4 medium zucchini spiralized or diced
8 oz cubed ham
2 cups whole milk
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
4 TBS butter

Peel, boil, drain and mash potatoes.
While potatoes cook other vegetables in a Pam sprayed frying pan.
Season as you go - each portion should be liberally seasoned. Use as much of the spices you like.  I used:
Salt
Pepper
Mrs. Dash
Dill
Everything but the Bagel
Garlic
Red pepper flakes
Parsley
Italian blend

When potatoes are done put in large soup pan or roaster and mash with butter and milk. Add cooked vegetables and ham. Stir in enough broth to make it the right consistency. Simmer for 1/2 hour. Cool.

Put in the refrigerator overnight to thicken.

Back Together

Bill and Amy and Jim and Jan came to dinner tonight. We haven't been all together in three weeks. It was so good to have us all talking and laughing.

Made chicken cacciatore for dinner.

Homemade sauce with fresh tomatoes.

I cooked chicken yesterday in chicken broth and put in refrigerator. Today I cut the cooked chicken into cubes, shook them in a bag of seasoned flour. Melted one Tablespoon of butter (I used to use a whole stick) and sprayed Pam. Browned the chicken and added it to the sauce. Added diced onions, celery and green peppers to the same pan I browned the chicken in.  When cooked added to sauce.

The zoodles I spiralized this afternoon and two hours before I needed them I put them in a 400 degree oven and after a few minutes I turned off the oven and left the zoodles in the closed oven.

Added the zoodles to the sauce. It was delicious.

Lunch at Tom and Steve's

Such a fun day. Tom and Steve are the best hosts. Even the smallest detail was thought of to make the afternoon so special. We are blessed to have such good friends.

Salmon Ragu

Oh this was delicious. Meijer has wonderful salmon steaks with crab stuffing in the middle. They were in sale today so I had to use them for dinner.

Meijer did not have any zucchini! We went to the farmer stall on Tittabawassee Rd. She had 1 medium and two very large. She said it is the first to go! But she had tons of summer squash so I bought 6 if those and the lonely little zucchini.  She had beautiful ripe tomatoes so I bought a bag if those.

When I got home I cleaned and spiralized the squash and zucchini. They filled two Rubbermaid containers. Then I cleaned, cored and quattered the tomatoes. I cooked them wirh salt, pepper, garlic and parsley. First covered. After 20 minutes i drained the water away. Added a jar of sauce and skimmed the skins off. Simmered without the cover.

Put the salmon under the broiler. Spread out a cookie sheet of zucchini and put that in the oven with the salmon. It took 20 minutes.

Took the zoodles and put them in a two bowls. Spooned sauce over it. Cut the salmon into bite size pieces and placed on top of the sauce.

Oh yum... So good I ate half if it before taking a picture. That little blackened area is the crab broiled just right. It was crunchy deliciousness. And the rest if the crab thickened the sauce.

8 tomatoes

Salt, pepper, garlic,parsley 

1 jar sauce

3 cups zoodles

2 salmon steaks with crab

0 sp salmon 

2 sp crab

0 sp sauce

0 sp summer squash

2 Freestyle sp for a huge bowl

Inspiration

@michelle_51755 on Weight Watchers Connect posted this today. This touched my heart. I am 90% positive on this weight loss journey. Every once in awhile - this morning - I think about how long this is going to take. Then I saw this. Im doing this!

Ruh Roh...... I'm not eligible to immigrate to America!

Click on picture to find out if you are eligible.

The final book of The Saginaw Series is now available on Amazon.

The friends are back in Book Five of the Saginaw Series.  Questions abound. Will Katy reconcile with Jen and Colleen, restoring their remarkable friendship through their senior year? Will Sarah and Joseph's hope to adopt a baby be fulfilled after a devastating change of heart ended their first attempt? A book with strong faith-filled characters to share with your friends and family. 

Miso Soup

Oh yum....

I bought frozen Chicken Wonton, Everything but the bagel seasoning, and Miso/ginger broth at Trader Joe's. This is the second time I've made soup. It just keeps getting better.

This is today's version:
Makes 2 servings
3 WW SP

1/2 box Miso/ginger broth
7 large shrimp
8 frozen Chicken Wontons
2 cups zucchini or summer squash zoodles
1 1/2 cups power salad blend
Squeezes of garlic, ginger, parsley tubes
Everything but the bagel seasoning
Salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, red pepper flakes
Soy sauce

Heat the broth in 4 qt pan
Saute everything else when hot add several shakes of soy sauce.

Add everything to broth.

Fun Morning

Fun with the boys this morning! Now they are fighting with tubes taped together.

Sweetie Pies

We went to dinner to wish Bon Voyage to Sheala. After having to change flights this morning because of bad weather in Chicago I heard her flight take off at 10:26. It took some insisting from Joanna to have her make her Tokyo connection. After looking at it again the person at the counter found a way.

Sheala is going to stay with Robbie and Alicia in Okinawa. I know they are going to have a great time.

ZOOEUM

I saw a post on Facebook about a camp at the Saginaw Children's Zoo and the Saginaw Children's Museum. I thought it would be perfect for Ayva. I called Caroline and she thought so too. I told her not to tell Ayva until I had her enrolled because it was just four days until the camp started and I wasn't sure there would be an opening.

I went to the zoo and signed her up. I called Caroline and she said she would call Ayva. That sounded like fun so I asked her to do a 3 way call. Jesse got Ayva on the phone and I excitedly told her about the camp.

She said, "That's okay Nana, I don't really want to go to camp."

I replied, "Okay then, I have to go. I'll get a refund. You talk to Grandma Caroline."

Two minutes later Caroline called to apologize. I told her Ayva was just being truthful. She hates new things. So I suggested after work she could tell Ayva she could try it for the first day and then decide if she wanted to continue.

Ayva called Caroline an hour later because she felt bad. Caroline offered the one day idea.

My phone chimed and Ayva asked if I had already asked for a refund. I told her no. She explained 'Grandma Caroline's idea' and asked if that would be okay.

So when we picked Ayva up to go to camp she looked very nervous. I pretended not to notice and chatted all the way to the zoo.

We took this picture, although I told her Grandma Caroline would be worried if I sent a picture without a smile. So she smiled pretty and then put her worried look back on her face.

We went in and I quickly signed her in and left.

When we picked her up she never stopped talking all the way home. She loved it.

Whew.... It takes a village....