Gramma Brown's Corn Chowder

Did you have a spooky Hallowe'en? Did you have many trickortreaters?

Most people I spoke to just didn't have as many as usual. We had fun at the Hallowe'en party. Look at the moon that night. It really looks like a spooky full moon....boooooooooo...

Everyone brought something to pass and oh my there were so many wonderful dishes. Don't you love a pot luck? We made Grandma Brown's Corn Chowder. We don't know her but her recipe came from here and I've written it for you. We had so many raving comments about it. We brought along styrofoam cups and spoons and kept it hot in the crock pot. Beside it we had oyster crackers in a mason jar....Yummmmmy!

Gramma Brown's Corn Chowder

Ingredients
1 pound bacon
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 small onion, diced
1/4 cup margarine
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
2 (14.75 ounce) cans cream-style corn
2 (15.25 ounce) cans whole kernel corn
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups whole milk

2 cups 1/2 and 1/2 cream
6 potatoes, cubed
4 carrots, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions
Fry bacon in pan until almost done. Add onions and celery, and saute until lightly browned.
Transfer to a cooking pot. Add cream-style corn, kernel corn, butter, and broth. Add carrots and potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes.

Mix together flour and a little water to form a paste.
Add milk and flour paste. You might want to add more flour paste, depending on how thick you like your chowder. Simmer for 30 minutes or until you are ready to eat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Have a great day... Judi xoxo

Happy Hallowe'en

Boooooooo at the lake today its drizzling .... boooooo. It feels like one of those Hallowe'ens I remember as a child or when taking my own children out trick or treating. One never knows this day what the weather will be like. Sometimes its windy and snowy and sometimes its just warm. Hopefully it'll stop and dry up a little bit for the trick or treaters.

We're going to a Hallowe'en party tonight. I wanted to dress up but its not a dress up so we aren't doing it either. :o( We're making Grandma Brown's Corn Chowder to pass and I'll share the recipe with you when we're done. The fall brings about so many comforting yummy foods.

Have a good day and evening and Happy Hallowe'en...boooooooooo Love Judi xoxo

Busy at What.....Acorn Squash Recipe

I have missed you all so much lately during my blogging break! *hugs* I've been able to pop in and read some but not enough. I keep wondering how everyone is and what I am missing.

What have I been up to? It seems I've been falling behind on things around my place and catching up and I feel better with that. My youngest son Richard is buying a new truck and I've been truck hunting with him. I've started making soaps, lip balms and other products for Christmas sales around here and for filling Christmas basket orders.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and October slipped in and I wasn't even aware or ready! I had ordered beads which should have arrived for the weekend so I could make PINK bracelets but they won't arrive until Tuesday...at the Lake...and I'm here! I've been making, selling and donating 40% of the sales to support the cure for the past couple of years. I will share them with you next week.

I have also lost 10 lbs. being inspired by the other ladies at work with whom I am sharing a special diet plan. We've all been doing well, eating well and supporting each other.

This is a typical kind of dinner. Talapia fish, mix of salad and veggies up to 8 oz., a crisp bread with Becel margarine, an apple. No pasta, no rice...no potatoes *sigh* but its working :o) and I feel so much better already.

But one type of vegetable I can't have on this plan which I love and we had a couple of weeks ago is Acorn squash. I want to share the recipe with you. Its easy and sooo delicious.

You will need one squash per 2 people. Slice in half and remove the seeds. You will need 3 ingredients - margarine, brown sugar and mustard. Its nice to use a mustard like Russian mustard or a Dijon. Something with a bit of sweet is nice. You don't have to worry about exact measurements with this....

Pierce the squash and microwave on its own for about 5-10 minutes until just becoming tender.

Remove and place in an oven dish. You can either mix together the 3 ingredients or drop each into each half acorn as I did. Use a pastry brush to brush it all over the top and around the acorn.

Place the squash in dish into preheated oven of 375F. Cook until the squash is tender and has a nice colour, taking it out and basting 2-3 times while its cooking, around the top and inside of squash with the mixture in the squash. Thats it! Place on serving plate and let everyone take one half. It is so very yummy. Its been a favourite around here for years now. Try it and let me know what you think....

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be taking my mom to her semi-annual glaucoma eye check and she may spend the night over but I'll see you soon. Keep well my special friends... Judi xoxo

Signs for a Blogging Break...Happy Thanksgiving

Hi everyone..
"I'm alive and doing fine...sign..sign..everywhere a sign"..*singing*.
There are signs around my place telling me I need to take a little blogging break and get stuff done. I have been galavanting around so much that things haven't been "gotten done".
I will come around and do some visiting as I can and see you when I'm organized.

This weekend is our Thanksgiving in Canada.
Take care...and just in case I don't get to say later "Happy Thanksgiving" to all my Canadian blogging friends this weekend.

Love Judi xoxo

Happy Birthday Vegas Style

We had a fabulous Las Vegas trip! The surprise 80th birthday trip for my mom was absolutely everything I wished it would be for her.

She didn't have any idea about the plans we had to travel (you can read my post from last week on the details I gave her). She wondered why we were taking a taxi at 5:00 a.m. Friday instead of taking a car from the hotel. She was bewildered to see it taking us to the airport and not until we were at the check in for Vegas did she realize. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Priceless just as I had hoped.













We stayed at Treasure Island and we really enjoyed our stay there. It was not as centrally located as where we usually stay but it really was a nice hotel.













My mom was excited to see there were so many entertainers appearing all around us.

Do you watch America's Got Talent? A year or so ago I remember watching a very talented Terry Fator competing each week on the show with his cast of many many puppets. I remember his sister was not well and was the one who encouraged him to audition. He seemed to be doing it for her and he won. He is still entertaining at Vegas and his picture seemed to be everywhere including on buses and atop taxis.

Here is my mom with Whoppie Goldberg so lifelike made of wax and in a spot approachable by anyone for pictures. Thank you Whoppie.













This sign for Cirque de Soleil's "Mystere" was part of the view from our room window. Mystere was performed at the Treasure Island and we had fabulous seats on Sunday night to watch this spectacular performance. We could see the facial movement on those cute painted faces. One of them actually jumped onto to the back of a chair in front of us and grabbed a popcorn. Following the show part of the cast was available to answer questions and they allowed picture taking with them. I was so mad at me because had decided to leave my camera in the room when we went to see the performance. I did buy a CD and one of them autographed it for me.

We enjoyed very yummy meals. They had such delicious buffets, our first one was a champagne brunch.

Doesn't this seafood dish look delish?

The Las Vegas view is beautiful at night when all the lights are on.....

and its very colourful during the day as well. The colourful one with the red and blue cone tops is the Excalaber hotel.

You do a lot of walking on the Las Vegas strip as you travel from one beautifully themed hotel to the next themed hotel. Each one has beautiful landscaping and waterscapes.

We found a lovely spot to rest at during the 101F and 102F temperatures. We loved it though. Do you know it was only 47F back at home today??? brrrrrr...way too cold...

I thought of Shelia as I took this Bathroom Beauty Diva picture of myself in one of the luxurious washrooms we "had" to stop in as we toured the hotels. I loved some of those bathrooms....can you love a bathroom? You bet your tiny cheeks you can... *s*... right Shelia?

This is a picture of the 3 of us. We all had such a good time. My mom said she was really getting into the routine of this lifestyle and then it was time to go home. I'm so very happy for this special memory we were able to create for her. Happy Birthday to you today mom....Love you... Judi xoxo