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Thursday, December 2, 2021

I Like Thursday #273

it's beginning to look like Christmas!

Welcome to this week's list of likes...and I start with the incredible change in our weather, which we do not like.  

 

we put up some outdoor Christmas lights, 


 

which caused us to have to trim bushes, which led to clearing out old leaves from under them and around the rocks, and 5 bags of debris from just around the house not the entire yard. We've raked several times already and hardly have trees but each bush drops them too. Since we are still sheltering in place, we didn't even need to put lights out front, no visitors, so we focused on the back where we can see them. 

view of our neighbor's house
 I wanted to purchase some more solar lights for the back trees, and got beautiful ones on sale at Lowes last year but the only ones I can find this year are white and twice as expensive. We can make do.

reading

 

continuing the bakeshop series, this time torte opens a new walk up coffee shop and solves mystery

listening to on audio

 

a doctor's wife in mideval England befriends a noblewoman and they navigate the king's court

watching on tv and youtube

 food network has holiday shows. Great British Baking show was terrific this season but we're on the finale. Hallmark continues to give us an abundance of happy fairy tales. We get peacock with our cable so I watched the ultimate girls trip with the housewives of bravo... much better than the individual franchises to me, they pulled the alphas from 4 franchises and it's a sociological study on pecking order, and tribalism. The women from one city don't put up with bad behavior from someone from another city. 

I've been watching tutorials on how to make origami ornaments and more ball pit discussions... this is by the same people

they are asked to make assumptions about each other and find out the truth... really touched me


Online

Jacquie Lawson advent calendar is back with daily games and videos. Her formatting is not fun this year and was a hassle to install... why does everything technological get harder to use? Hmmm? 

Sewing

I made more modern blocks, and worked on a small improv piece. I am planning to follow a tutorial to make a Christmas quilt with a set of Christmas 10" squares, more on Saturday

painting

liked this tutorial by Ceeceecreations, on painting simple but beautiful cards

 fine dining

 My big like for the week happened the day after Thanksgiving. 

On the day before Thanksgiving I went to make my traditional pecan pie (but with maple syrup not corn, and eggwhites not whole eggs)  I pulled the remaining pie crusts out of the freezer and they were a mosaic of broken pieces. 

So... I put the jigsaw puzzle back together best I could, poured in the ingredients and popped it on a tray in the oven. Good thing because the liquid ooozed out between each crack like a river. 

I've been nervous of doing pie crusts because cooks say things like, don't overmix! but don't tell me what that means to my mixing, until this woman... LOVE HER

It was super simple... flour, salt, canola oil, mix a bit, cold water mix a bit, press between waxed paper into size needed, do this don't do that... SO simple.

  It worked like a charm for my own quiche recipe that follows...now I'm a cook that puts in what looks right and seldom measure everything... here goes

prepare by dicing two carrots, two celery stalks with greenery, peeled white potato, half small onion, quarter bell pepper... put in a saute pan with olive oil and gently simmer. I add in about a quarter cup of sherry, cover and gently simmer til potato almost cooked and it smells wonderful. Spices used: garlic powder, basil, oregano, thyme, S & P, ... sprinkle over veggie mixture during cooking. 

we decided to add in 3 cooked leftover turkey breakfast sausage links, minced up too.

meanwhile make that crust and put in pie pan, don't stretch it ! 

in a bowl I pour 7 egg whites from carton, 1/4 cup half and half. 

I prebaked the crust for 5 minutes, then loaded the cooked veggies in, some shredded cheddar cheese, poured on the egg mix, sprinkled paprika on top. Bake at 350 F for about 45 min til knife comes out clean. 


It's a good lunch or breakfast, but we wanted to just pull a chair up to the pan and keep eating. To our credit we only had a 1/8th slice as a serving.
 

I also tried a cinnamon raisin bread recipe from King Arthur Flour but it turned out very dry so...
Oh we'll eat it, we three. With a drink at hand, we'll eat it but I'll try another recipe next tine

 Milo's Moments

I like when Mama bakes, and I know when I hear a beep! that means I am on duty to test it all.
 First. 
this time mama even put a little butter on my bread.  Yep,  bread and water for me... 

Mama: Milo! it was fresh homemade cinnamon sugar bread with cranberries! And you always drink water!

Milo: heh heh, gotcha! (remember peeps, to make sure you're there when good things are being handed out and ask for what you want, otherwise you might be forgotten)

 I had fun this weekend while my pawrents played with sticks in the yard. When Daddy cut one, he threw it into the yard, and I'd go pick it up to mulch! I like it when they hang out with me outside, and finally they see how much fun it is to play with sticks! 

It's hot again which is weird so I pant on walks. Boy the winter flew by didn't it? 

nap time!

now please visit these fine folks with lists of likes too! If you write an I like post let me know in comments to add your link in! 

craftscaviescontras  

http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com

rosie and the boys nature pics 




22 comments:

  1. the ie looks super great... makes me hungry ;O))) we love the lights... it is a good thing to bring more lights into this dark season ;O)

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  2. What a sweet picture of Milo with the tree! I love your lights, and the view of your neighbor's lights, too. Definitely time for something festive!

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  3. I'm just now on Episode 2 of Great British baking because I always wait till their basically all out before I start - I always hate waiting for the next week.

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  4. Dry cinnamon bread? Just heat and serve with maple syrup...problem solved and hard to keep from eating TOO much! Looks very, very good!

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  5. I love seeing the lights at this time of year. It's just so cheery. Dave hung every string of outdoor lights he found in the garage on the front porch this year. Looks a bit crazy during the day, but is actually quite festive at night when they are lit up. I also enjoy driving around town to see light displays.

    You've made me hungry for quiche! I need to look up some recipes for small individual ones because it would be a waste of ingredients for my picky husband. He like pie crust, loves ham and cheese omelets - but won't eat quiche. Go figure!!!

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  6. Your quiche sounds yummy! Glad you mastered that pie crust - what would we do without YouTube? Christmas lights are appearing in our neighborhood, too - I love seeing them!

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  7. WOW, y'all sure have been busy with all that yard work and baking. The quiche looks great and Milo, I know you're a most wonderful helper! Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

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  8. Hi LeeAnna,
    Glad you conquered the fear of making pastry !
    The quiche looks amazing ! I should try !
    hugs,
    Joanne

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  9. Hi LeeAnna! Look at Milo sitting so nicely in front of the tree. What a good boy!! I have Chilled to the Cone on hold at the library - it looks like a another good one in the series. Crazy weather!! But I know it won't last long. We're in the mid-50s which is very odd for Wisconsin in December. Take care and stay safe. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

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  10. Thank you for posting that pie crust tutorial. Your quiche looks great! Our yard is still full of leaves. We've cleared it a few times but keep getting leaves from neighbor's yards. Milo looks so cute in front of the Christmas tree!

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  11. Hello LeeAnna! Milo looks so precious in front of the tree! How neat that he posed for you! Your description of putting out lights reminded me of the children's book, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie! :)
    I fell in love with cozy mysteries after my parents' relocation. A Net for Small Fishes sounds fabulous - added it to my TBR!
    Your quiche looks delicious! I'd be tempted to eat it all in one sitting!
    It's so good to be back to blogging and visiting my friends! Take good care!

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  12. Everything you've cooked looks so incredible! I need to try new recipes. Love lots of pretty lights! And the books you've mentioned look good. Enjoy your week!

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  13. Your quiche looks yummy. LOL pie crust is one of those things, I know mine depends on if the gods are smiling on me or not. Your broken one that looks like a jigsaw puzzle you should have Kintsugi it with melted chocolate. :D Milo you should be the official taste tester.

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  14. Love the lights. Ooh - lots of tasty treats! Mmm... nap time looks comfy.

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  15. Hi LeeAnna. It is looking Christmas at you house, but I can’t believe your weather! Milo is so sweet to taste test your goodies for you. The quiche looks and sounds outstandingly good!

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  16. I don't even bother to try to make pie crust anymore, so I'm impressed with yours. Good idea, putting lights out back where you can enjoy them!

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  17. Well, that pie crust looks simple and kind of how my grandmother taught me! I put it into Paprika so sometime I might try it. I keep the carbs mostly "unrefined" these days, but for a special occasion it would be fun. So glad Milo got some fresh bread - lucky dog!

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  18. Milo does look cute in front of the tree - would make a great Christmas card! I like how you decorate out back for your own enjoyment. We do that, too, because so far off the beaten path only small planes can see it :) It's amazing how much work it is to clean up all the fallen leaves. Your quiche looks so good and the pie crust sounds great. I've used the same recipe for years, but the shortening has changed, so it falls apart on me now. I'll have to try yours. I love how you cover up Milo for bed. So sweet. Our temps went down this week and we might get snow tomorrow :( Hope you have a nice weekend.

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  19. You get so much done! Compared to you I feel lazy. I watched the video on making Christmas cards. The cards were beautiful and easy to do. Luckily we have a neighbour who has beautiful Christmas lights and they can be seen from my kitchen window. Warm greetings, riitta

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  20. Putting up holiday lights and decorations make Christmas time more special. It's great fun to see them going up around the neighborhood.

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  21. Sorry this is a generic message, but it's all I could pull together. Late Thursday as I headed to the basement, I caught my sleeve on the railing and lost my balance. I fell down 13 of the 14 steps to the basement floor. I laid there for what seemed like hours, but in reality was probably little more than 20-30 minutes. When I was able to get up, I realized I had hurt my back enough that all I could do was lie on it. I have trouble sitting or standing. I hope you understand. If I normally visit you every day, I hope/plan to feel better by Monday. Thanks for your support and understanding. PLEASE, NO SYMPATHY. It was my own stupidity.

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