An Arizona Autumn

In mid-September the National Forest Service here in Arizona begins their daily Fall Colors report. In the low desert we will see very little, if any, leaf change..... but in the high country it is an entirely different story. The colors across the peaks are absolutely breathtaking and since the season is very short, it has always paid to keep track of when the trees are at their most colorful. It's a lovely drive just a couple of hours north of Phoenix ......a drive we always look forward to this time of year.

The landscape begins to change as we leave the desert floor and head north on I-17 towards Flagstaff.

Oak Creek just outside of Sedona, the beautiful red rock country.

Arizona maples on Rim Road near the Mogollon Rim........

Gorgeous show of foliage in Oak Creek Canyon

A grove of Aspens near Christopher Creek

Autumn in the White Mountains .....

Country road near Flagstaff.....

"Ditch Camp" in the White Mountains .......

Bassett Peak .......

Slide Rock in Oak Creek Canyon..............

So before very long we'll be stealing away for a day (or maybe two ) to enjoy the lovely sights of the season........what's it like in your part of the country? Do you have colorful leaves falling right outside your window, or do you enjoy driving to the mountains to see the sights? What special little things are you doing to enjoy this incredible Autumn season?

Today I'm linked to these two great sites.

Just click on the photos to see more lovely outdoor shots.

An Autumn Meal

September

The breezes taste

of apple peel.

The air is full

of smells to feel;

Ripe fruit, old footballs,

Burning Brush,

New books, erasers,

Chalk, and such.

The bee, his hive,

Well-honeyed hum,

And Mother cuts

Chrysanthemums.

Like plates washed clean

With suds, the days

Are polished

With a morning haze.

John Updike

Isn't September just such a lovely month? And doesn't John Updike's poem

capture it so well? Or at least as well as a lovely month can be captured with mere words?

In just a couple of weeks it will be "officially" autumn in the northern hemisphere whether or not it exactly feels like autumn yet . In the West it is still very warm, but from what I've been reading across the net that's not stopping anyone from jumping right into the season, whether its in decorating or cooking or in organizing households for the new school year.

So here's my first contribution to the new season..........a meal I've been making on the first day of autumn for quite a few years now. It's from a little cookbook I picked up in the late 80's and the quick and easy main dish is called Skillet Sombrero Pie.

Photo from "Holiday Cooking with Kids" by Janet Wilk

Skillet Sombrero Pie

Makes 6 servings

Prep time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

I pound ground beef

1 10- ounce package frozen corn, thawed

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 16-ounce can tomatoes

1 tablespoon instant minced onion

or

if you're like me you add 1/2 diced onion instead

1 1 3/4 -ounce package chili seasoning mix

1 6-ounce package corn chips

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Equipment:

wooden spoon

large deep skillet

1. Stir ground beef and onion in skillet over medium heat until it browns

2. Stir in corn, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and seasoning mix

3. Turn heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes

4. Arrange chips in ring around edge of skillet

5. Sprinkle cheese in center and cook until cheese melts, 3 to 5 minutes

6. Serve pie directly from skillet

I usually serve this simply with a green salad. Like in the photo, we have "Monster M&M Cookies" for dessert and if the weather is cooperating, even a little bit, we have the hot apple cider to drink........otherwise it's great big glasses of ice cold apple juice.

Hope you're making plans to enjoy the great season ahead!

I'm linking up with these sites on this lovely "almost autumn" weekend. Be sure to visit them..... just click on the photos........

I'm also linked to The Inspired Room for Fall Nesting Week!

It's Party Time

This just so happens to be my 50th post, and I'm going to a party! A Rooster Party that it is! This lovely affair is being hosted by Barb over at Bella Vista.

Now I don't consider myself a collector, and I'm sure there are those who have many more than I do, but the roosters I do have seem to have found a comfortable place at my house. My decor isn't country, yet I think they fit in quite well......I didn't set out to collect them but they sort of made their way to me over the last few years, and now that they're here they seem to add a little something to my home that wasn't here before.

This little guy wanted to be first. He's made of tin and I bought him a few years ago to be part of a centerpiece at my husbands "Southern Fried Chicken Birthday Party"........so he loves a good party! I like to sit him in the middle of the breakfast table on bright sunny mornings.

This platter is one I've had for many years that is perfect when used as a breadbasket for hot biscuits or rolls.

I currently have these sitting atop one of my pantries along with several of my rooster cups from a favorite set of dishes.

This little rooster/spoon holder is probably my favorite. Besides being so cute it is actually very handy. It belonged to my mother-in-law and she always kept it in their winter home here in Phoenix. She passed away 3 years ago and my father-in-law just recently asked if I would like to have it.....well of course! :)

I also became the owner of her lovely cookie jar.

These two just naturally belong together so I have them sitting on my kitchen counter along side my glass canisters of staples.

Finally, just take a look at this guy! Isn't he handsome? He doesn't actually live here at our house but he's a local favorite. We visit him occasionally at Tolmachoff Farms right outside of the city here. We first met him a few Octobers ago at the Pumpkin Festival..........this would make a great print, wouldn't it?

Hope you've enjoyed yourself while you've been here........now go on over to Bella Vista and continue to party!

Ham 'n Cola

It will be here before you know it.........that final holiday of summer.

This is what we'll be having over the Labor Day weekend. Since we're spending the time at home, puttering around the house, catching up on some projects, I think this Slow Cooker recipe is going to work out really well. It's just a little bit out of the ordinary, since we don't have it very often, making our holiday seem a little bit special.....and on top of that, it is so easy that I won't have to pay much attention to it at all. On Sunday of that week we'll be having the ham sliced, with potato salad and rolls, then on Monday the 7th we'll have ham sandwiches , with coleslaw and corn on the cob. On the Saturday before, the guys are making Fresh Peach Ice Cream .........hopefully enough to last the entire weekend.......using the recipe from the post here. So if we add lots of iced tea and lemonade I think we're all set to enjoy a very productive, end-of-summer weekend......my favorite kind.

Ham 'n Cola

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp prepared horseradish

1/4 cup Coke

3 to 4 lb precooked ham

Throughly combine brown sugar, mustard and horseradish. Moisten with just enough cola to make a smooth paste; reserve remaining cola. Rub entire ham with mixture. Place ham in crock pot and add remaining cola. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, then turn to low setting for 6 to 7 hours. * Note: a 5lb pound or larger ham can be used in the larger crock pots.....just use slightly more cola and add an hour or two to the low setting cooking time.

Enjoy!

This post is linked to these delicious sites........just click on each one to enjoy!

Shrimp on the Barbie

For those of you who have been reading my blog for any length of time you know I live in the Desert Southwest where our summers are extremely hot. As you can tell from the Autumn Countdown widget on my sidebar, I am anxious for cooler weather to get here. That being said, I have to tell you that the other nine months of the year the weather is absolutely gorgeous here. That means that we use our grill virtually year round. We enjoy our share of grilled burgers, hot dogs, and steaks.......but there are so many other possibilities. Today I'm sharing quick and easy shrimp on the barbie.......some of you will pick up on that reference to the Crocodile Dundee movies from the eighties with Paul Hogan..... he was Australia's spokesman and the phrase "shrimp on the barbie" became the catch phrase for Australia's tourism adds for quite a while.

My husband is usually the one who does the grilling around here and is an all around great chef in his own right, so today this post is with much assistance from him. There are quite a few ways you can go with this dish, so just pick whichever one you want to try first. Or do several at a time.......these literally take only minutes and with the addition of your favorite sides you'll be having dinner in no time at all.

Shrimp on the Barbie

20 or so medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Wooden skewers

Any of the spices and sauces shown below

First of all, and be sure not to skip this part, soak the skewers in water for about 15 minutes. (obviously this is to keep the skewers from catching on fire.....a great tip no matter what you're grilling ) . Lace the shrimp onto the skewers so that they kind of "spoon" each other. Three or four shrimp will easily fit on a skewer.....be sure to put them toward the top of the skewer and leave a little handle for yourself at the bottom. Brush liberally with any of the spice mixtures, then place on a medium heated grill .Grill 3 minutes on first side, turn them over, brush liberally with mixture again and grill for another 3 minutes. Don't overcook! Test for doneness by breaking one shrimp open; if the inside is completely opaque and no longer translucent, it's done. Grilling time may vary slightly depending on the size of the shrimp, but you want your shrimp to be tender, white, and flaky, not rubbery.

Here are some of the various mixtures to use on your shrimp:

1) 1/4 cup melted butter, juice of 1 lemon or lime, salt

2) 1/4 cup melted butter, finely chopped cilantro, juice of 1 lime, salt

3) 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup hot sauce (we like Cholula hot sauce),salt

4) 1/4 cup melted butter with favorite Cajun Seasoning, salt

5) Shrimp Seasoning to shake on after you've brushed shrimp with melted butter: 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, dash allspice, 1/2 teaspoon minced parsley.Mix ingredients and put in shaker.

6) 1/4 cup of melted butter, lemon pepper

7) 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 large clove of garlic, crushed, salt, juice of 1 lemon or lime

Finally, here are some sauces to "go with". The bottled Heinz Cocktail sauce is really very good and these other recipes are easy to whip up for some delicious dipping!

Remoulade Sauce

(from the Outback Steakhouse)

3/4 cup mayonaise, 5 teaspoons stone ground mustard, 4 teaspoons milk, 2 teaspoons minced celery, 2 teaspoons minced green pepper, 2 teaspoons sauerkraut, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, minced fresh parsley

Make the remoulade sauce by mixing the ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover and chill this sauce until you are ready to use it.

Garlic Butter for Dipping

1/2 cup butter, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon), 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, 1 large garlic clove, crushed, salt

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add remaining ingredients; heat for 1 minute. Serve with shrimp or other seafood.

The smoke from the grill really brings out the flavor in the shrimp so you may just want to simply brush them lightly with melted butter or olive oil and give them a dash of salt before putting them on the grill. They'll taste delicious no matter how you decide to prepare them.

Enjoy! 

The Pacific Shore

Today I'm linked to these lovely sites:

The Perfect Kind of Peace

The Word has an amazingly simple solution for anxiety: trust in God, and find our anxiety replaced by a spiritual peace beyond anything we've ever experienced, or can even understand.

Think about this. Worry is actually prayer in reverse.

In Luke 12:6-7 it says to " Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your minds and hearts through Christ Jesus."

So next time we're tempted to worry and to be anxcious about anything in our lives let's take a look at a rose, such as this lovely Sun Flare rose from my garden, and remember this:

27"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." Matthew 6:27-29

Or anyone of us can just look out our back door, catch a glimpse of a sparrow anytime of the day and be reminded of this:

6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Luke 12: 6 & 7 amp; 

Blessings for a "worry free week",

 For more inspiration for the week be sure to stop by Spiritual Sundays

And for inspiration from God's lovely world see Today's Flowers

A Rare Summer Picnic

Since this week Jim and I will be busy celebrating our August 14th Wedding Anniversary, I will be AWOL from my computer the rest of the week. That being the case, I am linking to several other sites for this post and they are listed at the bottom.......please be sure to check them out! :)

As many of you know I'm hooked on Scrapbooking.............

I've gotten several e-mails lately asking when I was going to post more of my scrapbook pages so I've decided to feature pages from a spur-of-the-moment picnic we had a short while back. Here in the desert there are virtually no picnics after Memorial Day or then again before Labor Day, primarily because of the heat. That's my world. Now picnics and BBQ's around backyard pools are an entirely different story......here in Phoenix people live in their pools all summer. No, the kind of picnics I'm talking about are the" picnics- in- the- park" type of meal. Some years you can't even be sure it will still be cool enough by Memorial Day. Fortunately, in this particular year it was still relatively cool, and when we realized this we headed to Cortez Park at the last minute with a few friends.

As I've said before I now do digital scrapbooking exclusively. While I loved doing it the paper and paste way I found that with the volume of photos I want to scrap it was so time consuming that I would never stay caught up. I scrap chronologically with a scrapbook for every year. I keep each page fairly simple by arranging the photos with whatever clipart strikes my fancy at the time. I don't use this many "talk bubbles" every time but in this particular layout I wanted to use humorous conversation to move the story along.

We had a lot of fun with this insanely large frisby. None of us were used to doing this anymore so it was quite comical in itself.......a fact that was not lost on our teenagers!

You see? Teenagers.....gotta love 'em.

I create the layouts using Photo Shop, print each one out on my regular printer as an 8x8

page, then add to my 8 x 8 sized scrapbook. I also love the fact that I can make CDs of each years albums and keep them in a safe place as a back up "just in case".

The end of a long day......time for a nice siesta under the trees.

I'm leaving you today with a recipe that I took to that impromptu picnic that day...... Janie's Baked Beans. Now these beans are quick,easy, and definitely not baked. They can be prepared on top of the stove or in an electric skillet with not much effort. You can serve them warm, but I much prefer them cold. It's a good idea if you're taking them somewhere other than your own backyard that you chill them first, put in a plastic container and pack in your ice chest. These go so well with any kind of outdoor meal. Yummy and foolproof.

Janie's Quick Baked Beans

I call them this because this started out as

my baby sister's recipe a long time ago....

then I took it over :)

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, diced

1 chopped onion

1/2 bell pepper, diced

I can pork and beans (31 oz)

3 Tbs dark mollasses

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp prepared mustard

1/2 tsp tabasco

1/3 cup Ketchup

2 Tbsp Worcester Sauce

In electric skillet or large frying pan saute first 3 ingredients until they are tender. Mix other ingredients in, cooking over low heat. Simmer until well seasoned. Serves 6.........but I often double, triple, or even quadruple this recipe for a large crowd. It is very forgiving......you can experiment with each of the ingredients until you get it just the way you like it.

Enjoy!

@ Beauty & Bedlam @The Gypsy's Corner @Blessed with Grace

@ That's My World

@ A Southern Daydreamer

@ Designs by Gollum @ Ann Kroeker @ Momtrends @Vanderbilt Wife

And finally check out Hooked on Fridays @ http://hookedonhouses.net/