Good morning everyone. I have missed posting on this blog and have lots to talk about. My toe is completely healed and I am so glad that is over with. We have had a fairly uneventful summer, but things are starting to rev up. I joined an organization called Impact Oklahoma and I am very excited about it. I paid a one time fee and every dime goes to nonprofit organizations we choose to help! Every dime - that doesn't happen very often. I am on one of the committees to decide which organizations to help. They apply for the money, which is quite a process and we choose the ones to help for this year. If you know anyone who is part of a nonprofit that could use some extra funds, encourage them to contact Impact Oklahoma on their website and apply. Also, I finished entering the recipes in my cookbook and I had a wonderful photographer, Anne Schmidt, take pictures of about 40 recipes for my book! I am so excited about getting this finished and printed so it will be ready for the holidays. I will let you know where you can purchase it when it is ready. We have some great trips planned this fall. First we are going to Colorado. Our kids are meeting us there for about 4 days. We have family pictures, hiking and white water rafting scheduled. After they leave, my sister and her husband will be coming up. I think the guys will play golf and Joni and I will hike and ride bikes. It will be so much fun. When we get back, the holidays will be upon us. I will have lots of great recipes for you to enjoy for Thanksgiving and Christmas. If I can figure out how to download pictures, I will post a few from my cookbook and some of my fall decorating - my favorite time of the year.

Good morning all! My husband just informed me that it had been a while since I posted on my blog - thanks, honey..... We had a wonderful 4th of July. How about you? We made the best blue cheese burgers and fried okra salad - so yummy. I'll give you the recipes at the end. Probably the most entertaining part of the 4th was my sisters having a water fight on the 2 blowup airplanes in the pool I bought for the "children". Actually, the "children" had a blast on them. There are pictures out there somewhere. I would like to get them! We watched the fireworks in the front yard at Frontier City. They were beautiful. The brothers-in-law have a tradition on 4th of July that we like to call the Easter Egg Hunt. We live on a golf course and each year on the 3rd or 4th at dusk, all the men put on long pant and long sleeve shirts (for the ticks) and go on the course and into the woods searching for lost golf balls. They usually come back with 150-200 golf balls and wash each and every one, divide them up and compare their treasured balls (golf that is). It is so much fun to watch them take off with bag in hand bantering about who will find the most. We had friends over on the evening of the 4th and sat outside and visited and ate - very relaxing evening. One couple brought their 1971 Buick Grand Sport convertible! It is absolutely beautiful. After the 4th I had foot surgery, well actually toe surgery. It was a minor surgery, but the doctor was adamant about me not putting any weight on it for at least one week! If you know me at all you know I'm not the best patient. Bill got me the cutest little scooter to zip around on.  We sent Trey a picture and he wants to know if we can keep it!  Aubra has been such a mother hen from bringing us dinner, to visiting on her lunch hour, to scheduling an appointment for Annie (our boxer).  I've always said I need an assistant and she would be perfect.  Bill has outdone himself.  I got up one morning and the table was set and there sat an ice chest with fruit and cheese in it.  Wow! Was I impressed.  Aubra saw it later and said "he is really good."  One last thing - I am re-reading "Younger Next Year" and it is just fabulous.  I highly recommend everyone read it, even if you are 30 or 40 because you can never start too soon to take care of yourself.  Now for the recipes....
Blue Cheese Burgers - I like 6 ounce burgers, so make two 3 ounce patties.  At least salt and pepper both, or add your favorite burger seasoning.  I also brush them with a very good balsamic from Teaoli in Edmond.  Put a heaping tablespoon of crumbled blue cheese on one patty and press it into the meat.  Top with the other patty and press sides together very tightly.  Grill until medium rare, to medium.
Fried okra salad - You can start with fresh diced okra if it is in season and toss it with a little flour and cornmeal, or you can use Stillwell's breaded frozen okra.  Both work very well.  Put about 1/3 cup of olive or vegetable oil in a large skillet and heat until almost smoking.  Pour in okra.  Spread it out and salt and pepper it and LEAVE IT ALONE!  Let it brown nicely before turning it.  They less you stir it, the crunchier and crispier it will be.  It will take about 20 minutes to cook.  In the meantime, dice about 8 grape tomatoes and 4 green onions and set aside.  When okra is brown and crispy, pour in bowl lined with a paper towel.  Let it drain for a minute or two, remove the paper towel and toss with tomatoes and onions.  Adjust seasonings if necessary.

This year is almost half over. I am preparing for a 4th of July party and I realized after that, school supplies will be out on the shelves! I went to Hobby Lobby the other day and they had fall and Christmas decorations out - a little scary. I'll post some of my recipes from the 4th later if I'm happy with how they turn out. If you are planning any kind of party, don't be afraid to do as much as possible ahead of time. Almost everything freezes beautifully. Especially entrees and desserts. (salads and veggies, not so much). Make sure you have time left to visit with your guests and you are not in the kitchen the whole time. I had a request for my Taco Spaghetti recipe, so here it is: 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained; 28 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce; 1/4 cup taco seasoning; 1/2 cup diced onion; 8 slices velveeta cheese; 12 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained; 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning; 1 teaspoon garlic, minced. Brown ground beef and drain. In same skillet sauté onions and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and all ingredients except spaghetti and cheese to skillet. Simmer for about 7-10 minutes until all flavors are blended. Spray 8" x 8" casserole pan with nonstick cooking spray. Layer spaghetti in bottom and cover with 4 slices of cheese. Spoon meat mixture over spaghetti and cheese. Top with 4 more slices of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Serve or freeze. Also, for the 4th you must make key lime pie. It is so refreshing on a hot, hot day. 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs; 1/2 cup sugar; 4 tablespoons butter, melted; 2-14 ounce cans sweetened condensed milk; 1 cup key lime juice; 2 eggs; 1 cup sour cream; 2 tablespoons sugar; lime zest. Put graham crackers, sugar and butter in food processor and mix until it looks like coarse sand. Press in bottom and sides of a pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 5-7 minutes. Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk until smooth. Pour into pie pan with crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Refrigerate at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

I'm so sad for the Thunder although, we are the Western Division Champions and 2nd in the world - not too shabby.   What are we going to do for entertainment, now?  The Olympics are coming up this summer.  Maybe we'll go back to the things we used to do, like reading a good book.  I just finished The Paris Wife.  It is about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife.  Very interesting book.  The artistic lifestyle is quite different from mine, but that's what makes it interesting.  Speaking of artistic, go see The Artist.  It should be in the $1 theatre by now or even available to rent.  It is a silent movie about the silent movie era and has a beautiful love story.  Make hubby take you for date night and go see it.  Very different, but very good.  Oh, and yes we all need to do date night.  I know with little ones running around or those of us who are older and have no one at home, we don't think it's possible or necessary, but it is. It good for the marriage and good for the mind.  You have to think of new conversations to have and interesting subjects to discuss.  One great date night for Bill and I when we were young and broke was to get in the car and drive west and watch the sun set and then go to Barnes and Noble and read all the magazines for free!  It was a great night.  Now we like to play cards on the back porch swinging bed on our beautiful early summer evenings.  Get creative!

Thunder up!
We went to Miami to the game Sunday and cheered as hard as we could! Sorry.  We really are the better team, we just have to play that way.  Miami is quite an interesting place.  The Art Deco architecture is amazing. The lack of clothing is pretty interesting, too.  There is really a feeling of Cuba there, or at least how I imagine Cuba.  Everyone was very friendly to us as we humbly strutted (can you do that?) our orange and blue.  One of the guys who worked at our hotel was originally from Boston so he was cheering hard for OKC. He showed me a picture on his phone of his brother in Boston sporting a Kevin Durant jersey!  It was lots of fun.  I could get really used to the pool's view of the beach and eating lunch outside!  We are celebrating Bill's Father's Day tonight.  We are grilling steaks (his favorite) and making a Greek Salad.  So yummy.  I think we will be forced to break all dinner rules and eat while we watch the game.  Cheer hard!

What a night! We went to the Thunder game and I played as hard as I could from my seat, but it wasn't enough! I was so disappointed. My son watched it at 3;OO am in France (which you can read about on their blog - debbieandtrey.blogspot.com/ - and my daughter screamed at the television! True Thunder fans all around. Game 3 is in Miami on Sunday, so start getting ready now for your Thunder party. We need to do our part to cheer them to victory and I think eating and screaming are great ways to show our support. I'll give you a recipe that will be a hit with any fans. Chicken Pesto Pizza 1 can pizza dough 8 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts - diced 1/2 red onion - diced 1/4 cup prepared pesto 3 roma tomatoes 1 cup shredded pizza cheese blend or mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup olive oil Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pizza dough over baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (Just keep working the dough. It will eventually make it to the edge and don't worry if it shrinks a little.) Bake for about 7 minutes. Pour olive oil in large skillet and heat to medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 4 minutes. Add onion and pesto, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture over partially cooked crust and spread out. Top with cheese. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Cut in squares.

Well, it has been almost two years since I posted to my blog and a lot has happened since then. I have two married kids now, a young women's cooking class and I am trying to self publish a cookbook! Our son, Trey married our favorite daughter-in-law Debbie in September of 2010 and our daughter, Aubra married our favorite son-in-law Colby in October of 2011. They both have the most amazing marriages. My husband Bill and I are challenged daily to be as kind to each other as they are. It's interesting how now they are teaching us! I attended a wedding of one of Trey's friends in November of 2010 and all the wives of the friends were talking about their family lives - about cooking, eating at the table together, having family time, etc. They all said they didn't know how to cook very well and one even stated she wished she could do something with chicken besides be disgusted with it! I suggested we do a cooking class once a month and we will have been going for 1 1/2 years now. It is sooooooooo much fun. They are all like sponges and they really to go home and cook the food we learn to prepare. Also, they get a night out without the kids, but since hubby gets fabulous food, he doesn't mind babysitting. Here are some of the topics of our classes: "Italian Cooking", "Cook Once, Eat Twice", "Basic Cooking", "Mexican", "Thanksgiving","Christmas", "Cooking with Herbs", and always "Freeze, Freeze, Freeze". If any of these interest you, let me know and we can discuss some of the recipes. I am very family oriented and cooking is one of the best ways to keep the family together. I have a few rules - 1)everyone helps with dinner - making the salad, setting the table (that's right, I said "setting the table"), filling water glasses, and clean up. If your kids are a little older, you cannot imagine the conversations that will naturally come up while you are in the kitchen together! Don't let anything shock you, keep quiet, and you will find out all sorts of great information. 2) No discussion of negative topics. Now is not the time to talk about grades, taking the trash out, or that new friend of theirs that you do not like!. Some good subjects are: Name one thing you learned in school today. What is your favorite season of the year and why. Who is your favorite Bible character, etc. 3) Do not make them eat everything on their plate. They should sample everything, but if they don't like it, that's ok as long as they are not allowed to eat twinkles the rest of the evening. If you do not have children yet, or they are very small, now is the time to develop your habits with your spouse to teach them later. My cookbook will be all my favorite recipes from my store I used to own called "Joyce's". I just secured a photographer and I am very excited to do some beautiful recipe and table displays for my book. It should be completed by October. I will try to share some pictures along the way. I am very excited to meet all of you out there who are interested in cooking, gardening, decorating and all those wonderfully domestic things. As I said before, I may not know a lot about a particular subject, but I'll know a little and you can teach me more. Joyce