A New-1/2 Made Up Recipe

Here is my version of a recipe my mom used to make when we were little (see below for mom's version). My toddler likes spicy food so he will eat this too.

Meat/Veggie Mix:

1 can Glory Seasoned Tomatoes, Corn & Okra
1 can tomato soup (I use Campbells Healthy Request since the Glory veggies have salt too) (don't add water)
1/2 lb. gound beef (browned and drained)

Topping (see below for alternative toppings):

1 cup cornmeal
1 egg
3/4 c. milk (or however much it takes to get the consistency you like)
some shredded cheese

Brown ground beef and drain. Add soup and veggies and simmer or cook on low for a while until the flavors blend a little. Pour mixture into an 8X8 casserole dish.

Mix together egg and milk and add cornbread and mix in cheese to taste. Pour cornmeal mixture over meat/veggie mixture.

Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes (or until topping done)

The meat/veggie mix freezes well so sometimes I will make double receipe of mixture and freeze it in smaller casserole dishes or zip top bags. Then when you are ready to use, thaw it completely, prepare and add topping and bake. (I haven't tried freezing it after adding topping and baking.)

Alternative Toppings:

Bisquick Garlic Cheddar biscuit mix with a little extra water to get a less thick consistency so you can pour it over the top

can of Pilsbury or your favorite brand of fridge bicuits

Mom's recipe was ground beef, tomato soup, and bag of frozen mixed veggies topped with fridge biscuits or homemade biscuits. Perfect for little people who prefer a blander taste or who don't like okra.

Recycling and Garbage

A random observation:

When we arrived at our new home in CA we discovered that we have 3 HUGE garbage cans: blue for recycling (all unsoiled paper, all metal, all plastic, all cardboard, small appliances, etc.), brown for yard waste (grass clippings, tree prunings, etc), and gray for household garbage (you know what that is). Well, where we used to live recycling was not easy and we did not do it.

I can't believe what a difference recycling makes in the amount of household trash we have. Additionally, I am cooking almost entirely from scratch so we don't have as much packaged food as before. We used to fill up a 13 gal trash bag at least once a day. Now it takes us a week to fill an 8 gal trash bag! Wow, it is amazing.

The Last Few Days

Some pics from the last 3 days:


On the way to a b-ball game



At the park, first time in a swing







Our stuff is here - YEAH!!!






The following are all on the Wine Trail we went to on Saturday. It was a beautiful day (70ish, clear and sunny). We visited several wineries with our friends and met some interesting people, as well as tasting some good wine and some not-so-good wine. There was also lots of CHOCOLATE!!!! It was great fun! The wineries all had displays from local artisans, local musicians playing, and lots of great food: merlot soaked tri-tip, Cold Stone Creamery ice cream with dessert wine topping, etc.

For those of you (like myself) who have never been on a Wine Trail, the idea is that many local wineries have wine tasting combined with music, food, artisans, etc. and everyone buys a glass (in this case for $20) and you travel from winery to winery with your glass tasting whatever strikes your fancy. And, of course, you can buy bottles or cases of whatever you like enough to want to take home.

Scenes from the Wine Trail:

Here is an ingenious way to travel the Wine Trail with your glass. This guy and his friends made these wine glass holders for the Wine Trail.




Wine tasting going on.








Old grapevines-60ish years old






Picking ripe navel oranges at the last winery. Yum! Joshua was especially excited to have a new "ball" to play with.