Power Washer A Hit!

I just arrived home from a little grocery shopping trip with Mom along with a side trip to McDonald's for a coffee treat, compliments of Mom and what do I hear when opening our door???? A strange noise, one I had not heard before...and there was Ben power washing the deck!!!

Ben is difficult to buy for as he likes the really expensive toys but I went off on a limb for his recent birthday and purchased him a power washer that was on sale. Actually Tyler (our son-in-law) picked it up for me at Target:) Many-a gift have found their way to the back of the closet never to be seen again so I am simply thrilled that this particular gift will be used.

And please note the Shimano shoes he is wearing!!! Compliments of Matt and Courtney and they will be happy to see that the shoes are a hit also (and not just for fishing/boating).

Ben also received, from Tyler and Caribe, a beautiful pizza cooker for the grill and he is anxious to try that also. I guess he is waiting for me to make some pizza dough, I'll have to get that recipe from Coco. I will post the pizza at a later date, please stay tuned!!!

Stella

I snapped a pic of Stella recently and she looks pretty comfortable to me!

Jazzed-Up Corn on the Cob

Upon receiving the July 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine and being mesmerized by the cover photo of grilled corn on the cob I was just waiting for the opportunity to try the recipe.


The recipe was tucked in the back of the magazine in small print and I couldn't believe how simple the instructions were. Peel back husks and remove silk. Strip about half the husks from each ear and place in a large kettle of boiling water and cover. Boil for about 5 minutes and drain. Grill corn on rack of uncovered grill until tender, turning several times. Time will vary but it took about 12 minutes.


To serve, remove remaining husks (if desired) and brush corn generously with butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped red and yellow cherry tomatoes, along with chopped parsley, basil, and green onions. Top with crumbled feta cheese (I used basil & tomato feta). The nasturtiums in our little garden were the perfect color for presentation along with some fresh parsley!






Fourth of July Celebration



Today would have been Vinnie's birthday and we all were thinking of that special golden retriever that blessed our lives for fifteen years! Happy Birthday Vinnie!

We had a little Independence Day get-together today with Mom, Caribe and Tyler at our house and as always there was a lot of food. We hope that Courtney and Matt can join us next July 4th...we miss you two!

Today's menu consisted of hot dogs on the grill, calico baked beans in the crockpot, chips & dip, a jazzed up corn on the cob, and a fruit pizza.

The fruit pizza is nothing more than sugar cookie dough that you spread on a pizza stone and bake for 11 minutes at 350 degrees. I then mixed two 8 ounce packages of cream cheese that had been softened and gradually added about a cup and a half of powdered sugar. Finally I added some strawberry/rhubarb preserves for color and taste. That mixture was spread on the round baked cookie. Using blueberries I created a star...which is a little off center but you get the idea and then raspberries were placed around the edge.

I had some red-white-and blue striped crepe paper and I pinched it and tucked under the cookie which added a little festive touch.