Happy St. Patrick's Day

Since it be St. Patrick's Day I'll be lettin you know that I have a we bit o Irish in me.

We went to the St. Patrick's Day parade here in our town on Saturday. It was a balmy 25 degrees with a quite chilly wind from the north. No bother, though, because by the St. Paddy's Day parade pretty much everyone will do ANYTHING to get out of the house. Cabin fever has set in.

It was quite fun to see everyone out and about and the kids got all jazzed up on the candy thrown out by the parade floats. We collected lots green necklaces and other various things.

Today, St. Paddy's Day, I am fixing beer bread and an Irish Beef Stew for supper.

Irish Beef Stew

1/4 c olive oil
1 1/4 lb stew beef
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 c beef stock
1 c guinness Beer
1 c red wine
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Bay leaves
1/4 stick butter
3 lbs potatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 c. carrots, diced

Heat olive oil and brown stew meat about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Add beef stock, beer, wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer around an hour. Stir occasionally.

While simmering the stew, melt the butter and add vegetables and saute until done and golden, about 20 minutes or so. Add veggies to stew and simmer uncovered about 40 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread.

This is a really tasty stew. Something about the beer gives the broth a wonderful taste. I do not like the taste of beer but it's good in here.

The beer bread recipe I use is from the Creme de Colorado cookbook circa 1987.

Quick and Easy Coors Beer Bread
1/3 c butter
3 c self rising flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 12 oz can Coors beer

Melt butter and pour enough into a 9x5 loaf pan to coat the bottom. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and beer. Spoon dough into loaf pan. Pour remaining butter over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until bread is light golden color. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting with a serrated knife.

Serve bread warm with butter and honey. Yum!

I have used regular flour in this because I never have self rising flour in the house. So, if you use regular flour, add 4 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp salt. It turns out great each time!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!

Olaf

We got a new dog today. His name was Oliver but the kids want to name him Olaf  (like the snowman in Frozen). We drove to meet Jill, Dan's sister, in St. Cloud to get him. 

He's about Samson's height but a bit trimmer. He's only ten months old and we think he will grow some more. 

He's a Great Pyrenees and Mareema cross. Never heard of the breed Mareema so we googled it. They look very similar to Pyrenees. Both are livestock guardian dogs. Their cousins are Newfoundlands and St. Bernards. 

He has a great, thick, white coat of fur. He seems to be gentle and loving. 

The kids and Dan are outside with him right now getting to know him. 

Still missing Samson but needing another dog in our lives! 

More Snow

It snowed again last night. Looks so pretty! I thought I would show you how much snow we have by showing you neighbors mailboxes. I know that the plow has helped pile up the snow but it's still deep stuff around here.

I'm loving the white!

There is a mailbox under there somewhere! I pinky swear!!

Our back porch

Our firepit and chairs! LOL

Psalms 52, 8-9

Right there in the middle, while I was reading my Bible, sat a pearl, a winking jewel in Psalms just for me. These verses were there for me to discover on that very day by an all-knowing, all-loving God. I LOVE what is said.

Here are the verses I read that day.

But I am like an olive tree

flourishing in the house of God.

I trust in God's unfailing love

for ever and ever.

I will praise you forever for what you have

done;

in your name I will hope, for your name

is good. 

I will praise you in the presence of your

saints.

Psalms 52 8-9

Snow What Snow?

We are having a real Minnesota winter. It's cold and snowy and I love it! Here's a few pics. 

The UPS truck got stuck in our driveway the other night. Came home from running the kids somewhere and here he was. I couldn't get into the house and he couldn't get out! He was a bit frustrated and kept rocking the truck back and forth to no avail. He had gone over to the neighbors to get a snow shovel and that hadn't worked yet either. 

I told him my husband was on the way home from work in his big Ford truck and he had a tow strap. He could get him out. 

Dan came home and hooked the tow strap to his bumper and he was out in a few seconds. The man was a bit agitated but thankful to be his way. I know they have killer schedules. 

Anyway, all ended well. 

Snow on our back deck

My husband and the UPS driver

Back deck again

God's Unfailing Love

I had a PET scan and MRI in November and I had a Dr's appt first part of December to give me the results.

Both of the tests look great! :) My doctor said the only thing they found on the scan was that I have a kidney stone. Wow! Nothing else. Miraculous!

I am getting stronger. I am doing more than I've done in quite awhile. Last week, I joined the gym where Dan works out. I have been working out on the eliptical and I added some weight lifting to the routine.

It feels good to get better. I'm so glad to still be here. Everyday, I thank God for his work in my life.

Life is precious and a sweet, sweet gift.


Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Broccoli Cheese Soup

It's -27 degrees here. That's  negative 27 degrees. I know, I know, it's been cold a lot of places. I'm not complaining just sayin'.

I had a burning desire for some hot soup. No pun intended. Shelby had been at a friend's house and had had a similar soup for lunch a few days ago. I tried to call my friend to get the recipe and she didn't answer so I used this recipe off of allrecipes with a few moderations.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 onion
6 Tbsp butter
1/3 c. flour
4 c. milk
3 c. chicken broth
1 carrot
1 c. broccoli
1/2 c. celery
1 lb processed cheese
salt and pepper

Chop onion - I only had 1/2 onion so I used that.
Saute butter and onion in a large sauce pan. Cook the onions until softened. Then, sprinkle flour over the butter and onion mixture making a nice roux.
Add milk - I added 3 c. milk and 1 c. 1/2 and 1/2
Stir and cook until mixture is thickened.
Take chicken broth and put it in small sauce pan.
Add carrot, shredded or dice it like I did.
Broccoli florets - I chopped these up into small pieces
Celery - I didn't have celery so I used 1 Tbsp of celery flakes
Bring the chicken broth, carrot, broccoli and celery to a boil. Cook about 5 minutes or until veggies are tender and then combine the chicken broth mixture with the milk mixture. Blend.
Add cheese -I only had 1/2 lb so I used it. I'm thinking it would be good with Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese also.
Cook soup over medium heat until cheese is melted. Do not boil or cheese will curdle and separate. Salt and pepper to your heart's desire.      

I'm already looking forward to left overs for lunch tomorrow.

We are suppose to have one more day of super, duper cold and then it's above zero for a bit. If it's cold where you are try this soup recipe. It's a good one!