I love Fall

I absolutely LOVE Fall.

It’s my favorite time of the year. More so than any other season, Fall makes my soul sing and my heart happy. The crisp, sunny days, the beautiful leaves and all of the traditions that go along with Autumn – yes, it’s my favorite time of the year.

I love baking yummy goodies and making soups and stews. I love changing my wardrobe from shorts and t-shirts to sweaters and jeans, swapping out sandals for boots and clogs. I love sleeping with the window open to hear the breeze and feel the changes in temperature (even if it does make me sneeze).

I love walking in the woods and hearing the leaves crunch beneath my feet. I love riding in the mountains and being awed at the beauty. I love picking out pumpkins with the kids and watching them carve them under SuperMan’s watchful eyes.

I love hosting our friends for Halloween fun and spending time with the ladies while the men take the kids around the neighborhood. We always freeze as we sit outside to hand out candy, but it is always one of my favorite nights of the year.

I love gearing up for the holidays – starting to plan for Christmas and Thanksgiving. I love thinking about the shopping and gifts to be purchased, food to cook and friends to spend time with.

Fall, I love you.

I’m so glad you’re back.

What I’m Reading Right Now

I’ve just finished a really good book that I was asked to review: Searching For Captain Wentworth by Jane Odiwe. I have to say, I felt very lucky to have been given the opportunity to read the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The baseline of the story revolves around a young woman named Sophie Elliot who is adrift in life and in her career and hoping to restart her writing career by staying in Bath, England in the townhome owned by her family. She is fascinated with Jane Austen and when she learns that the townhome is next door do the one that the Austens lived in when they were staying in Bath, her decision is finalized.

What follows is an interesting journey backwards and forwards through time as Sophie mysteriously passes back into time in the body of her cousin who is living next door to the Austens and has befriended the young Austen ladies. Sophie becomes more and more entwined with the story of her cousin and her friendship with Jane and her sister – and brother, Charles.

In modern times, she befriends her neighbor, Josh Strafford, who happens to be working on an exhibit about Regency Bath, including displays on the Austens. As Sophie bounces back and forth between time, she begins to have feelings for both Josh and Charles, which she fears will lead her to heartbreak on both fronts.

The story is cleverly woven between the past and present and quickly draws you into both times. You hope that Sophie finds love with Charles Austen in the past AND with Josh Strafford in the present. You wonder how the events in the past have shaped the current and what changes may occur based on Sophie’s actions in the past. Will she affect the future? What will happen with Charles? What does Josh feel about her? Is she just a friend or more to him?

Odiwe does an excellent job of portraying Regency England and the customs and challenges young women of that era faced. I was enchanted by her portrayal of Jane Austen as a spunky, creative young woman bound by duty and honor – and most women of that age were. I’ve visited Bath before and the descriptions she used in the book were true to my memories and took me back to the visits, wandering the streets and walking through the Pump Room.

She handles the time-travel relatively well, and I think, does a good job of portraying Sophie as someone who tries to sort out whether what is happening is a dream or if it is real – and which reality is really real?

I would most definitely suggest you read the book, even if you are not a Jane Austen fan, you’ll enjoy the story line and be enchanted by the characters.

This review is also part of the Layered Pages book review team. Hop on over to find more great books and reviews.

Searching for Captain Wentworth, by Jane Odiwe – A Review (austenprose.com)
Review: Searching for Captain Wentworth by Jane Odiwe (janeaustensworld.wordpress.com)

O.M.G. Salisbury Steak

Y’all, I made the BEST Salisbury Steak the other night.

Totally by accident.

It was so good, I don’t even have a picture of the finished meal to share with you. My family devoured it before I could take one!

O.M.G. Salisbury Steaks in the pan — goodness in progress

So, I can’t SHOW you how yummy it was. But I can certainly TELL you. And SHARE the recipe so that you can try it out yourself. And it is so easy to make. What you need most is a little time. Not Thyme – Time. I think the secret to this dish is cooking is slowly and letting the flavors really “percolate” in the dish. The longer you can let it simmer, the better it will be.

Seriously. I wanted to DRINK the gravy it was so good… oh.my.goodness.

There’s nothing fancy you need for this recipe. It’s pretty much all basic ingredients. Unless, of course, you consider mushrooms or brown gravy mix “fancy” ingredients? Those are the only two things I don’t always keep stocked in my pantry. But they’re worth the shopping trip to purchase.

I made the patties from ground beef – almost exactly like I make my meatloaf – and then browned them in my cast iron skillet, adding the onion & mushrooms to brown alongside the steaks.

O.M.G. Salisbury Steak & Gravy

2 pounds ground beef
~1/2 cup milk
~1/2 cup bread crumbs
Houston House Seasoning
2 eggs
2 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tbsp minced garlic

~1 cup mushrooms,diced
1 onions sliced

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 package Brown Gravy Mix
1 bouillon cube (beef)
about 2 cups of HOT water

In a large bowl, combine the milk & bread crumbs to make a paste.
Add the beef, eggs, onion & garlic. Add seasoning & mix well with your hands to combine.
Form into patties – about 3/4 of an inch thick.
In a large skillet, heat some oil and add the patties.
Let them cook on one side for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Don’t move or mess with them. Once they’ve cooked enough, they’ll release from the pan and you can turn them and cook on the other side.
After you’ve flipped them, drop the onions and mushrooms in the pan with the patties – cover.
In another bowl, whisk the soup, gravy mix, bouillon and hot water.
Pour the gravy over the steaks. Re-cover and cook on low for about an hour. You may need to add more water (I added close to a cup) to keep the right consistency of the gravy. It will get dark brown and delicious.
You can also run a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan to get the brown bits off the bottom to get mixed in the gravy for even more goodness.
Serve with mashed potatoes and die of happiness.

You can also do this with cubed steaks – I’ve done that before, too.

Cast Iron Skillet “Shepherd’s Pie” (thoughtsalonglifeshighway.com)

Baked Ravioli

Well, that was fun (not) –

I’ve been sick for the past two days with a stomach bug – the kind that reminded me of the worst morning sickness days of my pregnancies. I lived off of saltine crackers, plain bagels and ginger ale for two and a half days. Not sure if it was a virus or food poisoning, but it was most definitely not fun and I’m so glad I’m feeling better this morning.

I have a yummy and easy recipe to share with you. This is one you can literally have in the oven in 10 minutes if you have the ingredients on hand – and dinner in a half hour. Super simple.

I made it one night last week when I was crazy busy with work and needed something filling and fast. I served with a salad and garlic bread and the family loved it.

It’s kind of like a lazy-woman’s lasagna. But tasty in it’s own right. And, ironically, the little one doesn’t like lasagna, but loved this.

Baked Ravioli

1 large package prepared three-cheese ravioli
1 quart marinara sauce (you can use jarred, I used leftovers)
1 pound ground beef
Italian Seasoning
Houston House Seasoning
2 cups mozzarella or three-cheese Italian blend

Preheat oven to 350
Brown the ground beef. Season with Houston House Seasoning & Italian Seasoning.
In a large casserole dish (deep dish is best) put about 1/2 cup of marinara. This will coat the bottom of the pan so the pasta won’t stick.
Add in one layer of ravioli. (if they are frozen, that’s fine)
Spread about half of the ground beef on top and cover with some more marinara.
Add in another layer of ravioli and top with the remaining beef and marinara.
Top with cheese
Bake, uncovered, about 20 minutes.

Let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with a salad & garlic bread.

Monday Musings & Menu Plans

Happy Monday, everyone!

The weather is feeling rather fall-ish around here. It’s a gloomy day today, but the temperatures are really nice. I’ve pulled out my trusty fleece vests, happy to snuggle up in them again for a few months.

And that means hearty soups and stews for dinners – comfort food at it’s best. I am so happy. Love cooking that stuff – love eating it even more!

Last week, the girls’ virus derailed my dinner plans for a few days. Pretty much all they wanted to eat those few days were bagels and ginger ale. So, I have a few things that I’m carrying over from last week to this week.

I think I may have the virus myself, so haven’t really been feeling up to cooking much – so I’ll be focusing on simple things (read crock pot friendly) and comfort food favorites.

	Dinners	Lunches
Monday	Shredded Beef Burritos	Leftover Baked ravioli from last week (recipe coming soon)
Tuesday	Cheesy Chicken Pasta (requested by kids)
Wednesday	Chicken Fried Rice (carried over from last week)	leftover chicken pasta
Thursday	Cheesy breadsticks w/ marinara sauce	sub sandwiches
Friday	Dinner out – Friday night Mexican	cheesy breadsticks with a salad

I’m also craving some chicken tortilla soup but won’t be making that until my tummy feels a little better. Right now, the only thing that tastes good to me are saltine crackers and ginger ale. Ugh.

Hope you all have a great week!!

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

My menu plans went out the window this week when the girls got sick. I needed comfort food, and fast. I had pinned this recipe and decided to try it out – I figured it might be comfort food-y enough to give the girls some goodness in their sick little bodies.

I mean, doesn’t that just look delectable?

Of course, I made it my own with a few modifications and I thought I’d share the finished product with you here. The verdict from the family? Well, the sickos weren’t crazy about the crackers on the top but SuperMan and I absolutely loved it. And the leftovers for lunch are even better after the flavors have settled in together even more.

So, this one comes with the highest of recommendations from our family. Next time I make it I’ll only put crackers on half, but that will be the only change. It is really, really good.

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Houston House Seasoning
minced onion (dried)
minced garlic
Mrs. Dash (garlic variety) if you have any, not necessary if you don’t
2 bouillon cubes (chicken)
1/2 pound of egg noodles (uncooked)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used low fat/low sodium)
1 can cream of chicken soup (I used low fat/low sodium)
1 cup sour cream (1 small container)
1-2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
1 sleeve butter crackers (like Ritz) crushed
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Season chicken breasts generously with Houston House Seasoning and Mrs. Dash.
In a large stock pot, place the chicken breasts, bouillon cubes, about 1-2 Tbsp of minced onion and 1-2 Tbsp of minced garlic. Cover with water and bring to a boil.
Cook chicken in water for about 1-2 hours or until tender.
Pull chicken breast out of water (reserving water) and shred. Set aside.
Bring the chicken broth back to a boil and add the egg noodles. Cook until al dente. You do not want to overcook so they will not be soggy in the casserole. A little “firm to the tooth” is better.
While noodles are cooking mix the cream soups & sour cream in a large bowl. Add about 1-2 tsp of Mrs. Dash and 1-2 tsp of Houston House Seasoning and mix well.
Mix in the chicken.
Pull noodles from the water (I saved the broth & froze it for another use later) and mix in gently with the chicken/soup mixture.
Place in a greased casserole dish – 9×9 or larger.
Top mixture with 1-2 cups of cheese. You want to see noodles peeking out. It should not completely obliterate the casserole. It’s just a garnish, so to speak.
In a small pot, melt the butter. While butter is melting, crush the crackers if you have not already. (good stress reliever)
Remove melted butter from heat and add the crackers to the butter and mix well.
Sprinkle the crackers on top of the cheese, spreading in a thin layer.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. (uncovered)

Let sit for about 5-10 minutes before serving so you don’t scorch anyone’s mouth.

ENJOY!

Things I’m loving right now

I thought I’d share with you a few of the things I’m “into” right now – things that are making me happy –

First up on the list is my iPad. Yes, I’ve gone over to the Borg, but you knew that already, didn’t you? Early in the summer I got an iPad. I debated for a long, long time on getting one. I had an e-reader already (love my Nook) and did I really need an iPad? Well, I have to say, I don’t know what I did without it before. It is so nice to use in lieu of my laptop and e-reader and relatively portable (even though it is heavier/bigger than my Nook) and I love the many apps I have on it. Forget my Bible at church? No problem. Need to look something up? No problem. Watch a movie on Netflix? No problem.

As a matter of fact, I wrote most of this blog post on my iPad while I was sitting in carpool line and then just uploaded it to post. I’m addicted, I tell you. Best tech investment I’ve made in a long time.

Next would be somewhat directly related to my iPad and that is my newfound love for the Inspector Lewis series. I love the dialogue. I love the story lines. I love the fact that I almost never figure out “who done it” until almost the end of the show. It is well written, intelligent, and has great casting. And I also love that I can watch all of the old episodes on my iPad via my Amazon Prime membership. LOVE that. I sit it on the counter and watch while I’m cooking dinner, I watch while SuperMan is watching something else I don’t care for on TV, I watch whenever and wherever I can.

And, adding to the list would be that Amazon Prime membership. I debated getting one, but it sure is nice to have my shipping covered for things from Amazon – and the streaming video is absolutely awesome. Well worth the membership fee.

What about some non-tech things on my list of things I love?

Well, I am hopelessly addicted to these granola bars from the Pioneer Woman’s website. I love the rich taste the addition of molasses gives them. Dipping them in chocolate is an added indulgence although not really necessary to me – they’re good all by themselves.

And I’m really enjoying my fruit – it’s apple season and I am eating at least one a day these days. (no doctor for me!) I’m putting them in my oatmeal in the mornings, eating them for an afternoon or before-bed snack. The Honey Crisp are my favorite and they’re back in season again (hooray!) I’ve also made two apple cakes in the last week and I’m thinking of another apple-themed dessert for this weekend… I’ll share the recipe if it works out well.

What about you? What’s making you happy these days?

Twenty Years Ago

Twenty years ago I said “I do” to the love of my life –

to laughter and tears

to joy and sadness

to building and rebuilding

to learning and growing

to challenges and triumphs

and most importantly, to loving

I’d say we’ve done pretty good so far.

I can’t wait to see what the next twenty years bring.

Welcome!

Welcome to Thoughts Along Life’s Highway…

where it’s all about family,

cooking and creating.

Here’s the story

Learn a little bit more about me, my habits and my favorite things. I’m five years out from having had gastric bypass surgery (you can read that story here) and loving my life as I’ve gotten healthy and made some major changes.

Our family consists of SuperMan, my soul mate and love for the last 25 years, our two girls – Big Girl, Little Bit (who is not so little anymore) and me. We live in the northern part of Georgia, although we’re southern through and through. We survive off of sweet tea, good cookin’ and lots of love and laughter.

Check out my favorite recipes, my crocheting, knitting and crafty adventures and even see a little bit of my scrapbooking adventures.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Today

Good morning!

Grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me. I’m so glad you’re here!

Today I’m…

…wondering about Big Girl’s not feeling well… if I need to call the doctor or let her rest and hope she feels better tomorrow.

…grateful for the leftovers in the fridge so that I don’t have to cook tonight.

…thinking about making some pizzelles but wondering if I should wait until the weekend.

…avoiding the laundry that is waiting to be washed, folded and put away.

…working on my to-do list for work.

…enjoying the cooler temperatures that came after the rains.

…hearing the re-runs of “Family Ties” in the other room – my sick girl entertaining herself.

…thinking about the reading I need to do for my Bible study tonight.

…enjoying the creation of this new shawl I started on Sunday. I can’t wait until it is finished and I can wear it.

…looking forward to the fall – the decorations, the festivities, the food, and the fun. I can’t wait to go pick apples, pumpkins and walk in the woods with the colored leaves cascading down around me.

…contemplating whether or not I will “do” my hair today or just pull it up on my head and let the crazy curls do their thing.

…reading “The Secret Life of Bees” and really enjoying it. I just finished another book last night and will share the review with you soon.

…trying to focus on the positive and less on the negative.

Linking up with the Simple Woman’s Daybook today.

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Welcome to Thoughts Along Life’s Highway…

where it’s all about family,

cooking and creating.

Here’s the story

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