Lovely Day in Winter

Ahhh! This is more like it- temps in the high teens/low 20's (C)- sunny- the birds are singing LOUDLY ( we put bread out for them and the sparrows sing so loudly when we do- it is amazing!) - this is a really nice day. I even got my laundry hung outside to dry! woo hoo! Times like this I wish I had another hanging area- so I could get two loads out. Want to go outside and spin. :) Maybe I will after this post! :)
I have a good start on the Moroccan Nights I got from EGMTK! - am amazed at how slippery those fibres are compared to the previous ones- it's fun and frustrating in one- remembering to adjust your draw from one to another. Mind you- being the novice I am- I have no idea what kind of draw ( to name it, I mean ) that i am using.....so I call it 'the one that works for me at the time with that type of roving/fibre. ;)
Gosh- am drawing a blank as to what to write- can you believe that!? Me!? lol
I am wondering what is for dinner / tea tonight- am thinking of making a mexican rice casserole that we haven't had for over a year now- because when I first made it we had it ALOT and got sick of it I think! LOL We do love mexican. Well- RJB isn't as keen on it as i would like- but he is young. He will grow into I reckon. Pretty easy to make- cook rice- while that is cooking get some TVP ( about 1 c. with 7/8 c. water) in a bowl and add in some taco seasoning & fresh crushed/minced garlic if ya want. Reconstitute that with boiling water and let sit until you are ready for it. (alternatively- for you meat eaters- mince/ground cow and taco seasoning as if you were going to make tacos.... but keep it a little drier than perhaps normal.... )
Cube up some cheese. Find a small tin ( 450g/ 14 oz) of diced tomatoes. Put some frozen corn kernels in a bowl in the microwave and heat them until they are defrosted/lightly cooked.
Once rice is cooked and cooled a little so that it doesn't break up into mush- put that into a large mixing bowl- mix in the tvp, corn, drained ( or not- prefer to partially drain them) tomatoes, chopped/diced onion, the cubed cheese, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper to taste- and the all too important JALAPEÑOS!( ok- so we have to add them later as they are too hot for our little man) ....plop that into a greased casserole dish and pop it into a preheated 180°C / 350°F oven and let it bake until it is warmed & all cheese is melted- I would say a good 35-40 minutes ( for a large baking dish- depending on your quantity as to how long you bake, obviously). I love to add in red sweet pepper/capsicum that has been chopped too- dont' always have it on hand- but yummy- adds in a nice flavour. Oh-some shredded cheese on top is always nice - as it stops the rice from getting too crunchy from the baking process....depending on how 'wet' your tomatoes were to begin with.
Then I serve it with tortilla chips ( like Doritos ) if we have them, salsa, and SOUR CREAM~ yum!~ on the side- as some of us (RPB) don't like it- while others of us ( RJB and me ) love it.
I am thinking of crockpot stew for tomorrow or the day after -whenever it gets cold and rainy again - as that is a warm filling lovely meal with fresh bread. Been meaning to make a Rosemary Focaccia,too.... will have to have that with some spaghetti- whichever night that turns out to be.... I am awful at planning meals. I like to- but seems the mood I am in on the day is not the same as the food I planned....anyone else like that? We just finished off a batch of Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies from a recipe book by Mr. Food that I have had for a long time and had yet to make something from them. They were quite nice. Certainly easy and quick to make.
Smelled sssssssssoooooooooooo good while baking it was torture to wait for them to cool! RJB actually wanted some mississippi mud I think- which is ( for those who may not know or may know something else by that name ) chocolate brownies with marshmallow creme and essentially soft choc. fudge for the icing on top of that. We made a batch for DH's birthday cake at the beginning of June and of course put sprinkles/ 100's & 1000's on it for decorations- and that is what RJB wants- those darn colourful hard things. Bleh! I am not keen on them- but that is what RJB kept talking about- make a cake and put "fpwinkles" on the top. Well- he got brownies- but no sprinkles........poor child. Maybe next week! :)

Sayings from our world-
Junction Jogger ( train that is in Mt. Barker and takes just a short trip- mentioned in one of the first posts I did here) - known as the "Junker Junker". ;)
More or less anything that starts with an "s" is an 'f' sound and you kind of have to wrinkle up your nose to say it right- like snip is 'fnip', snow is 'fnow', etc.
Dr Phil is "Dr. TV".
Darn- there are more- but can't think of them right now.
Time for a nap-nap anyway- so will post this and write more when I think of them. :)

Hope you are well.