So How Was Your Weekend?

     Once a year in my part of the world, Corvettes take over the town. I've written about the Corvette Funfest before, and you can click here if you want more information. We always like to make a trip out to Mid-America Motorworks to walk around, see the masses of Corvettes and grab a bite to eat from some of the wonderful eateries. The Yager family puts on quite a show and everything is organized and spotless. There really are cars as far as the eye can see. They are also filling up our local hotels, restaurants and businesses.

     This year, the headline entertainer was Don Felder, the former lead guitarist from The Eagles. At $10 per person, the concerts are quite a bargain.

This was my favorite car this year. Yes, I picked it by the color!

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was getting quite a bit of attention.

Did you know the original was built in 1936?

     The rest of our weekend included a trip to the cemetery to put fall flowers on the graves of my mom and my grandparents. I spent many hours pricing things for the garage sale we are having next weekend. I will be so glad when it is over! I also made my mom's yummy apple cake. You can find the recipe here. It is so easy, one bowl and great for dessert or breakfast.

I am joining Yvonne @ StoneGable for On The Menu Monday

Please stop in to visit her!

So how did you spend your weekend?

Vegetarian Tuscan Stew

     As soon as the temperature changed, my desire to cook something also came back. Last weekend I decided to try to combine some fall flavors and make a meatless meal. We aren't vegetarians, but I think I could be if I could just hang on to bacon! We do tend to have a few meatless meals every week and I will make this again. I will warn you, it isn't a pretty soup as you will see from the final picture. This is a recipe you could easily change based on what you have in your pantry.

Ingredients:

1 bag dried pinto beans (rinse and soak in water for at least 2 hours)

1 large potato

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

onion chopped (optional)

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 bag baby spinach, rinsed

1 tsp. (or more to taste) Italian Seasoning

salt

pepper

olive oil

     Drain soaked beans and place in large pan. Add chopped potato, carrot, celery and onion (optional). Drizzle with olive oil, add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Add water to cover the beans and simmer until beans and veggies are tender. You may need to add more water as the beans swell.

     While the beans are cooking, peel and cube butternut squash. I puncture mine with a knife and put it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes to make it softer and easier to peel.

     When the beans and veggies are tender, remove about half of the mixture and blend in food processor or blender until smooth. Add back to pot. Add the squash and spinach and continue to simmer until spinach has wilted and squash has almost melted into the soup. Add water as needed, this soup really thickens quickly.

     I made a loaf of no-knead crusty bread (recipe here), sliced it and drizzled it with olive oil. Bake the slices until brown at 350 degrees and serve with the stew.

I am joining Michael @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday

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Falling Into Fall

     Fall is slowly spreading throughout my house. I try to use little bits of orange and stick with the other fall colors more. But, once in a while...bits of orange sneak in to the mix!

I am joining Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday and

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays.

Please stop in and say hello to our hostesses!

Change the Bedding, Change Your Mood

Summer 2011

     About a week ago, I packed away my "summer" bedding and decided it was time to add some fall back to the bedroom. I pulled out the chocolate brown bedding set that I bought last year at Macys. Last year, I loved it. This year, every morning when I made my bed last week, it just felt wrong to me. It pulled me down.

Fall/Winter 2010-2011

     On Saturday, my husband came in the room while I was making the bed. I told him that the bedspread was depressing to me this year. Expecting him to roll his eyes and look at me like I was crazy, I was very surprised when he said, "me too". My husband had an opinion about a bedspread, this doesn't happen. Maybe the fact that we've had some months of "darkness" around our house, or maybe the beautiful quilts we got from his mother that don't fit any beds in our house are part of the feeling. Whatever it was, I told him that I really felt more in the mood for a light colored, cozy quilt on our bed. Less than an hour later, we happened to stop at Cracker Barrel for their front porch sale (I didn't buy anything). I went in to look at the Halloween decorations and saw a display of beautiful quilts. I didn't even know that Cracker Barrel sold quilts! Needless to say, my bed now has a different look that makes us both feel good when we walk in the room.

Today!

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday.

Please stop in and say hello to our hostess.

God Bless America