Happy Homemaker Monday

Today I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.
My kitchen has been pretty busy lately.   Hubby had to work 10 hours on Saturday and 12 hours on Father's Day, so his "dinner" was made Saturday night for him.  The kids seriously need to learn to cook.  

I made homemade biscuits and sausage gravy, scrambled eggs and fried potatoes.  English muffins on the side with home canned strawberry margarita jam.  Already sold 2 jars of the jam too, although selling any more is halted.  The rain is halting u-pick farms from operating.  Unless I can get another flat of strawberries, the remaining will be for just us.

I also made whiskey butterscotch sauce and a half batch of flourless brownies - Family Circle, recipe is also online (we still have strawberry pie to eat).  I was in my pj's by 5pm.  I was just whipped from canning, baking and cooking.



The weather outside is . . .

(view off the porch on Sunday)

Foggy, 61°F, humidity 91%, dreary, cloudy, and only a 25% chance of rain today.


On my reading pile . . .

Movies or shows I watched over the weekend . . .

On the menu for this week . . .
Tequila-Lime and onion sandwiches, fireball grilled pineapple
Pulled pork sandwiches, steamed broccoli and corn on the cob
Pesto pasta, beets
Fried chicken, mac n' cheese, mashed tades
Leftovers
Flourless brownies, whiskey butterscotch sauce
Make pie crust crumbles for the freezer


On the to-do list . . .
Laundry
Master bath
Sweep and mop kitchen
Can more reduced sugar strawberry jam
Freeze strawberries
Muck coop
Scrub chicken's watering unit
Cut garlic scapes (hoping for some Garlic scape-Radish Spread soon)
Trip to the library
Make Doc appt. for Youngest (school required vaccine - ugh)


What I am creating . . .
Christmas ornaments, embroidered towel, scrubbies, a knitted dishcloth and more.  More photos to come soon.



Looking forward to . . . 
A dry day and a long motorcycle ride.  A camping trip.  An island trip.  


Looking around the house . . .
I have drying racks everywhere.  Darn rain.



From the camera . . .

I canned more strawberry jam - reduced sugar. Definitely not my favorite jam to can - so much chopping and crushing involved.


One of my simple pleasures . . .
Camping.  Another one of our "sanity savers" and we haven't had one trip this year due to Hubby's long work hours and heavy rainfall.



Prayers . . .
Our entire state, where rain has devastated growing season, personal requests

Strawberry Margarita Jam

Saturday the rain  came back again with a vengeance.  I forgot one item at the grocery store - limes.  I had planned on canning jam first thing, but had to go back to the store first.

However, on Friday, I picked up a flat of locally grown strawberries.  Hubby got his cold strawberry pie for Father's Day, and I got some to can jam. 

 

I made strawberry margarita jam for the first time. I did an immediate taste test -  super sweet but very good.  Just a dab ol' do ya'. The recipe is in Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publication:  Canning, preserving, and freezing and drying (Sept. 2013).  The recipe is also online.  

With all the rain coming, we forfeited the last of the sweet potato slips.   I hate to do that, but it's a weather crisis, and I don't want to spend the extra cash on buckets and a truck load of dirt.  Did you know organic soil for vegetables is $6.77/bag (2 cu. ft.)?  I am hanging onto about 6-7 to plant if I can, but that's all the tilled space I have, and we are running out of time.  They take much more time than regular potatoes.

We are getting more rain today.