an old stand-by

Here's a dish I have been making for years. It's from the cookbook compiled by the ladies in the church we attended for 25 years. Many of my go-to recipes are in that book. As a matter of fact, I use it so much, it is tattered, stained, and falling apart! I really need to transfer my favorites onto recipe cards and put them in my recipe binder. Anyway, I digress.....the recipe! I like it for three reasons...it's easy, it's tasty, and the ingredients are all things I typically have on hand. 

So, here it is...

Five Spice Beef and Rice

1 lb ground beef
1 med onion (or 1/4 cup minced onion)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can (16 oz) can diced or crushed tomatoes
1/8 tsp oregano, parsley, basil, garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste (pepper is the fifth spice!)
1 cup uncooked rice
1 bag (8 oz) grated cheddar cheese

Cook rice according to directions. While rice is cooking, brown ground beef and onion in large skillet. Drain. Return to skillet. Add soup, tomatoes, and spices. Simmer for 20 min. Remove from heat. Add cooked rice and cheese (recipe says to top dish with cheese, but I have started mixing in it and like it better). Pour into 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

I made it this week and it was as good as always. I appreciate a recipe that is reliable! :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

food, laughter, and inspiration!

We are blessed to have a wonderful Christian crisis pregnancy center/ adoption agency ministry in our middle Georgia area.
Each spring, for the last eight years, Covenant Care Services sponsors A Ladies Night Out. There's food, door prizes, laughter and inspiration. It is always a good time!

What makes it especially nice for us at our office is that our boss, the Doc, buys our tickets! He does this every year...to support the ministry and to bless and encourage us!

The decorations were cute and the goodies were tasty!

 Momentos from a christening. Don't you know that was a happy day for that adoptive family?

A scrapbook of some of the successful adoptions made possible through Covenant Care.

 

They had great door prizes... donated by businesses in our area. 
 

The speaker was so funny we laughed til we cried!! She was also very gifted musically and shared from a heart of strong faith.

I had friends from church there, too. 

We are all in the same Sunday School class.

Here's our office group. That's my daughter in the middle. 

We are blessed with sweet co-workers!

 Love my girl! So glad we got to do this together!

Proverbs 17:22 says,"A merry heart does good like a medicine." We were certainly merry tonight!

let's hear it for shutters!

I love shutters. I have always loved shutters. I had short ones in my former living room. I have them in my kitchen window and, until about 3 years ago, I had them in one bathroom. Yep, I love shutters!

In the last few years, I discovered plantation shutters. I have seen them in magazines, catalogs, on HGTV and, more recently, in a home I visited. Wow! Now I was really in love! No need for curtains or curtain rods. The windows look so finished, clean, and neat.

So, when we were shopping for our construction project, I asked the Hubby if we could price them. He thought they were a little pricey...but when I told him I would never have to buy curtains again and he would never have to hang another curtain rod....he reconsidered! :-)

Back in Jan, we ordered them from Lowe's. It took a few weeks for them to arrive and Hubby was still working his seasonal retirement job. But, Friday was his last day there and yesterday was his first day as a "shutter hanger!" Thus, the picture above! (one of eight!) Aren't they lovely? I am so happy!  It is amazing how different the room looks!

It is taking a while, but things are coming together. I am so grateful for the space, the wonderful job our contractor and his workers did, and for a very "handy hubby" who is able to do the finishing touches. He is doing a great job and saving us a bunch of money...getting them installed would have cost us as much as the shutters!

The "reveal" is getting close! I can't wait to share it with all of you!!

azaleas

Azaleas...

what a happy sight!

They bloom in colors varied

And tell Winter it's time to go!

 

Azaleas...

what a lovely sight!

Their hues are soft and vibrant

And announce that Spring is here!

Azaleas...

what a splendid sight!

They nod their heads in worship

And proclaim that Easter is near!

today's gifts

These are a few of the things I am thankful for today:

161. the blooms on our dogwood tree
162. the patience of God
163. take-it-easy days (rare but wonderful!)
164. friends I can "vent" to and who can "vent" to me
165. my hope in Christ
166. a hubby who will eat almost anything
167. the arms of a grandchild reaching for me
168. the ability to remember
169. projects that turn out the way they are suppose to
170. and ideas that help to "fix" the ones that don't! :-)

"Thank God! Pray to Him by name!

Tell everyone you meet what He has done"

Psa. 105:1

birhtdays # 1 and # 66

Today is the Hubby's birthday! One year ago today,

he received the best and sweetest gift ever...

Little L!!

 

She is a sweetheart who has brought much joy to 

our family. We are so grateful that she is healthy and happy!

A party was planned for today, but the birthday girl

 and her family are sick. So, we had to postpone.

After all, a girl should enjoy her very

first birthday party!!

We look forward to celebrating soon!!

Happy Birthday, Hubby and Little L!

I love you both very much!

a spoonful of memories

When I was in high school, I was very close to my pastor and his family. I spent a lot of time with them in their home. I babysat their kids and ate many meals with them. On one of my first visits, I noticed her spoon rack. When I asked her about it, she told me she collected spoons from all the places she and Bro Larry had visited.  I thought that was a very special idea!

So, when the Hubby and I got married, I bought my first spoon on our honeymoon. Soon after, I bought (actually I got one with green stamps. anyone remember those?) a spoon rack. It was small and held about a dozen spoons. After a few years, I needed a bigger one, so on a trip to Helen, Ga, I found the one above. It has been hanging in my dining room for...well, a long time.

..

When I look at it, it brings back a lot of good memories and it reminds me that I have been more places than I sometimes think I have. Lots of places in Georgia and Florida...

 Puerto Rico, Niagara Falls, Nashville, Hawaii, New Orleans, Washington, D.C....

Jamestown,Yorktown, Philadelphia, the Olympics in Atlanta,

Las Vegas, Cozumel, the Bahamas, Key West....and  some other places.

About a year ago, I filled the last spot! I hope my travels aren't over...I have a long list ofplaces I would love to visit. Don't think I will buy another rack, but it will be hard after 40 years, not to buy a spoon to document the visit!

This week, I decided, since my paint brushes were handy and I seem to be painting everything these days, to paint it and hang it over the updated country cabinet in the kitchen. I like it there! 

Hope your weekend is filled with pleasant moments and good memories!