One of ours is Pepper Poppers.
Take your pick of sweet peppers or jalapenos, then stuff, wrap, and grill them.
So good.
– – –
The Cast of Characters:
Peppers, either sweet peppers or jalapenos, cream cheese, and bacon.
Optional: mozzarella cheese sticks
Clean your peppers by cutting the ends off and coring them.
Usually, I just stuff them with cream cheese; sometimes I put a little plug of mozzarella in first and then fill the rest with cream cheese, your choice on that. My children liked the mozzarella in them the last time, I preferred it without.
Wrap a half slice of bacon around the end and secure it with a toothpick.
Since the pepper and bacon grilling time are not equal, I usually cut the bacon slices in half and fry or bake it just a little prior to wrapping it.
Grill forapproximately 15-20, maybe 25 minutes. It all depends on the temperature of your grill. You can also bake them in the oven if you prefer.
We all love them.
Try a few and find out if you do too!
Clean your peppers. Stuff them with cream cheese. Wrap bacon around the ends and secure with a toothpick. Grill until pepper is softened. Enjoy!
Sunshine, pretty trees and blue skies in Ohio? Is that a thing? I’m taking bids to come rake my leaves, mow the lawn once more and throw out the dead plant or two jack frost has finished off.
The dentist.
I went again last week. I have to go again next week. My dislike of this appointment is on the rise. It used to be tolerable, something I had to do occasionally and survived, but it is becoming a serious issue for me. I’m telling you it’s right up there with the likes of stepping on a snake or something equivalent.
When I came home from the said appointment at 8pm, she was doing this. I was not a very nice mom at that point so things got a little heated. We worked it out and the donuts were good. (And no, I don’t know what recipe she used.)
This thing about food and the eating thereof.
Why do I not dislike eating as much as some of my children?
How does a child become full to the very tip-top after only 2 bites when only minutes before they had been a very S T A R V I N G hungry monster?
Why does it take 473,827,382,356,783 dishes to cook a 2 item meal?
Who else hates the piles of dishes staring at you while eating a meal?
Why does weariness overcome you as soon as you finish eating and all you want to do is nap?
Do all children have the ability to sense what is coming and magically disappear as soon as it’s time to clear the table, do the dishes, or empty the dishwasher?
Why do recipes online look so delicious and turn out like something the cat won’t sniff much less grace a table?
Why do I wait until 1 hour before set eating time to become frantic about what we will be eating?
End of food rant. Amen.
After reading a book about going to the moon the topic of discussion was just that, going to the moon. I pulled some videos up on You-tube so they could better visualize this and all eyes were open and ears were tuned.
Later that night I heard the son declare, “I am going to the moon someday!” The little one who follows him says, “Oh, but Dakota, you can’t. You would miss us so much because it takes 4 days to get there and 4 days to get back!”
Speaking of reading, my girls would spend all their days wrapped up in books. Dakota, not so much (yet), it just doesn’t hold the appeal it did for the girls. He is doing better the last few weeks, if only in an effort to win a free pizza.
What series of books are on your A-list for kids in the tweens, 10-12 age. Any suggestions?
My husband and my eldest can go round and round.
The other night they had an “egg” battle.
“That was an “eggcelent” meal!”
“Yes, eggstraordinary.”
“Read all about it in Eggekial.”
“Eggxtra, Eggxtra, read all about it.”
“Can’t wait to get our Eggcursion back.”
“Wouldn’t you rather drive an Eggspedition?”
Try it sometime, it is Eggspiring. (or don’t)
We have one birthday in October and one in November, Christmas in Dec and another birthday in February. For a person that does not do well with buying and giving gifts, this is a problem.
Give me all your ideas for gifts. please. lest I succumb to the stress.
Would someone please explain to me how I am old enough to be at this stage in life? Am I not just 25, okay maybe pushing 30, but still. THIS!
One of my children has a pet peeve … when you go somewhere and the parents meet old friends, someone invariably will look at them and say, “My word, your children are getting so big!”
“Like really? What are we suppose to be doing? Getting smaller?
Don’t you think we already noticed this?
Getting big? What is that? Large?
Thank you for reminding us that we have grown in the last year!”
So, I promised to try to rephrase that one a little if I am ever tempted to say it. “Whoa! I expected your children to still be the same size they were the last time we met and how is it that they have not stopped stretching upward in length by now?”
Confessions of a mom:
I wait until she comes home from school to make the pie crust.
If I throw away an old toy or treasure, I stick it far and deep into the trash can to insure that it is well hidden.
I get claustrophobia when they all want to sit so close to me.
I may or may not hide certain foods for myself.
I can’t tell them all. They will read this and know.
Confess a few of yours to me! I won’t tell your kids.
When you find yourself fighting a battle remember this:
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9
His grace is sufficant for today, for this moment, for right now. He is glorified in our weakness. Lean on Him. Depend on Him. Tust Him.
Stay warm in this crispy weather and have a good weekend!
There are few things in life that can fix common problems like a good cookie.
Add a cup of coffee, and it’s even better.
When it’s a kid with the problem,
they are always happy to have a cookie to help the hurt!
When it’s me, with or without a problem,
well, I am just always happy to eat!
My Mom found a recipe for homemade Oreo Cookies
and they have been a hit around here.
We like them tiny, you can eat more that way.
We started scooping them out
and than cutting each scoop in half to make them smaller.
It makes more cookies and they are so cute!
About two or three bites and it’s gone
and you can justify eating another one because they are so small!
Mix together.
Bake the cookies for 8 minutes (time may differ with ovens)
Filling:
8oz Cream cheese – softened 1 stick of butter – softened 2 tsp vanilla 4 c powdered sugar
Beat the cream cheese, add butter and mix.
Add vanilla and powder sugar. Mix until creamy.
Place a spoonful on half of the cookies. Top with the rest of the cookies. Taste a few while working.
I experimented with different brands of cake mix but this one turns out the best. The cookies are a little flatter with the Betty Crocker brand and work well to put filling between them. When I used another kind, they were more like fat little nuggets.
We did try other flavors too.
These are butterpecan, but I wasn’t so fond of them.
My sister tried a yellow cake mix and said they were good.
I guess your options are only limited to all the kinds of cake mixes.
In an effort to avoid mopping my kitchen floor, this post is was started. Procrastination is not my middle name for naught. True to my middle name, I quit working on it a few sentences in, to go do something else. So now, as a reward for finally cleaning my house, I’ll tap this out. It’s a random assortment of nothings so fasten your seat belt.
~~~
When I was a kid, going to Grandpa’s was a highlight. There were little games stored in all kinds of cabinets, corners and drawers. Marbles was a favorite. I wonder how many hours we spent on the game with cousins, aunts and uncles. We always thought we had the other guy beat until he managed to empty his side in one smooth move and we were left sitting with a whole roll of marbles.
I’m not sure where I found this game, but I taught my kids the old version I learned at Grandma’s house and now I watch them play. The noise level, the amount of yelling and rolling around on the floor tells me that I have some sore loosers too.
Speaking of sore loosers, she very clearly falls into that category. The blur of motion in the right hand corner would be the brother laughing in excessive celebration!
~~~
I would like to tell you that we remodeled and this is our new kitchen, but it’s not. We were just wandering around Keim Lumber the other Sat and being quite envious.
After strolling through the kitchens, we were looking at the gi-ro-normous showers that revel the size of our entire bathroom and Mr D comments loudly, “Wow, this one would be big enough for our whole family to shower at the same time.”
Umm, no thanks son, although the shower itself would be nice, I politely decline the invitation to make it a family affair.
Instead of showering together they decided to park a small car in it instead.
The history buffs discuss a chunk of tree and all the dates in its time.
I am of no help in this conversation.
~~~
Reagan has been perfecting her “cake in a cup” for an afternoon snack. She’s gotten pretty good at it, but don’t ask me for the recipe, I think it changes every time.
Speaking of food, Madison baked these the other night and I told the kids that the mom always needs to check a corner to make sure it’s fit to eat. Things may have gotten out of hand with the checking.
Marshmallow Crunch Bars
Bake a pan of brownies. When there are 2 minutes of baking time left, dump a bag of mini marshmallows on top and return to the oven for the remaining time. While they cool melt 1/3 C butter, 1 C peanut butter and 1.5 cups of chocolate chips together. Add 2 C rice Krispies and pour on top of marshmallows and pull your self control out of your back pocket. You will need it.
~~~
Kindergarten is still in progress so we are enjoying weekly grocery dates.
~~~
Early this morning I heard roaring and squealing outside and whipped the door open to find this! I couldn’t believe he pulled this off on his own, thankfully I saw his Dad waving from the shop! She was quite happy with her chariot.
~~~
I am blessed with many things inherited from my Mother but one things I missed was her green thumb. Oh my lands, there is nothing green about my thumb. In this photo, my friends, is suppose to be a flower bed we started last fall. If you can find it, let me know. Hopefully by tonight it will look different, but I am dreading the process.
Just keepin’ it real folks!
~~~
On a side note, if you aren’t friends with my on Facebook but would like to follow along with the blog there, I have created a page for it. Find it along the right side and click follow.
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Life keeps moving, whether we want it to or not. People keep changing, events keep happening, we keep living one day after the next, but are we appreciating our days? We are blessed to have them, to live life with the ones we love. Do we appreciate it enough? I, of all people, should have learned this lesson, yet here I sit, grappling with life and feeling like I’m stuck in a rut of grouchiness and unappreciation.
These flowers kept speaking to me as I drove in and out of our lane the last few weeks. It was warm, it was cold, it frosted, it snowed, and then warmed up again, yet all the while they kept lifting their heads and blooming. In the morning they would be drooping, heads hanging low, but by afternoon, they were up and smiling again. What about me? Have I let the cold, the snow, the changing seasons of life get me down?
Did I give up or do I lift my head to bloom again even when things are difficult?
There are all kinds of Miller families in this world,
but there is only one of kind of these Millers.
These Millers do life well.
They cook with gusto.
Two girls and six boys in the family
and almost all of them love to cook.
When we get together, there is no end of food.
They inherited this love of cooking from their mom.
Sometimes its comfort food they call “Miller food.”
Sometimes its exotic things from other countries.
At any rate, there is always plenty and it’s always good
This gang can tell stories with the best of them.
Well, some of them can,
the others are generally part of the story being told.
Frequently you will hear one brother say,
“Hey, let’s tell (insert brother’s name) stories!”
Tall tales can be spun in no time at all and well told they will be.
Next year they are told again, only a little better then before.
These Millers are self-proclaimed rednecks.
Old trucks and tractors, 4-wheelers,
dirt bikes, motorcycles and much more.
A ripped up shirt is a fine thing and a bandanna or a bill cap will work
to cover the facial features that rival Duck Dynasty.
There are boats, jet skies, kayaks, canoes or a plane.
How about a Miller-built raft that floats on metal barrels,
run with an outboard motor and even sports a live well.
If it can be built, they will build it,
whether it looks good or not,
they will proclaim it good and be quite proud of it.
These are people who care,
who invite you to be part of the family,
whether you are family or not.
A friendlier group you will not find,
they will pull you in and surround you.
Within minutes, they will be asking who you are related to,
who your parents are and your grandparents, and in no time at all,
they will either be related to you or know someone who is.
There are those who will tease you mercilessly, laughing all the while.
Some can talk like the wind, entertaining for hours.
You have the quiet ones in the background, picking up the slack.
There are the singers who will strum a guitar around the fire,
waiting for someone to sing with them.
Some are game-players, gathered around a picnic table for hours.
There may be laughing and talking over the game,
or a heated competition to win.
There are those who think deeply and bring thought provoking
conversations to the table.
And any one of them is ready and willing to lift a hand,
any time you need one.
This family has fun together and enjoys each other.
They don’t always agree, not by a long shot,
but they do life together quite well.
~~~
Every year for as many years as I’ve been around,
they’ve been gathering to camp for a weekend.
Lately it’s been Labor Day weekend on the farm.
It’s very much looked forward to by young and old alike.
To prove my point on friendliness,
I can’t remember a camping weekend in the last five or more years
that someone hasn’t brought a friend along to camp.
A few years ago they put in a pond
and it has gotten many, many hours of use since.
Every year the old red and white tent goes up.
Most years it drips rain on us, but this year was nice and hot.
We gather under it for the best of food and conversations.
Speaking of food, I mentioned that these guys like to cook.
Usually it isn’t something simple and
this year we had a menu of a wide variety.
The first night we had food from all the countries we represent.
Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guatemala, and Brazil.
Sunday morning Grandma and some granddaughters made her specialty,
home-made donuts.
There are none better to be found.
Sunday lunch was Miller Soul food.
Grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and noodles, salad and dessert.
Sunday evening was seafood, representing our Florida family members.
Sam brought a sword fish along and they grilled it.
It was quite delicious.
They also had bacon wrapped scallops
and an assortment of other things to go with it.
Monday morning was more comfort food of biscuits and gravy.
Monday afternoon our meal was southern redneck, Sackett style.
The Sacketts are characters in the Louis L’Amour books this gang has all read.
Not that I knew that, I had to ask since I’m not an original of the family!
Timmy took on the challenge of making root beer using dry ice.
I don’t think the Sackett’s had dry ice in their time,
but this worked and it was declared quite tasty.
For the main course of the Sackett meal, we had a hog.
It roasted since late Sunday night and
was a mighty fine piece of meat till it was done.
There really is more involved to our weekends then just food,
although that is a big part of it.
This year was Human Foosball.
Tim built a game and it was in use most of the time.
If you played with guys, you were likely to have
bumps and bruises of all shapes and sizes.
When the ladies or kids played, it was much calmer,
but just as much enjoyed.
At least I think so, I actually didn’t play
due to not having a desire to be kicked in the shin or hit with a ball.
Monday there was even a round of tournaments
which brought out the spectators.
The pond was put to use by the little kids and big ones.
They had tubes, boats, jet skies and the works out there.
You can see a bit of the previously mentioned raft here.
The little guys were water logged and sun burnt until the weekend was over.
And a few of them were well covered with mud.
These Millers are night owls, hanging out until all hours.
There will be good conversations, there is probably food,
and there may even be a Foosball game at 1am.
Now that I’ve convinced you that you would rather like
to be part of this Miller clan,
you are welcome next year about this time, down on the farm.
We are always up for a friend or three to join us for some fun.
There will be good food, of that you can be sure.
This Life of Mine 