stuck stuffie

sometimes when the dogs run thru the doggy door carrying something, it gets caught or doesnt drag thru easily (cardboard boxes, a long stuffed snake, etc). so it gets abandoned midway thru. and then i walk out into the porch and see stuff like this.

a tale of broccoli

baby broccoli


two big heads of broccoli


this ones a little loose


break the head off, and broccoli regrows


keep cutting, it keeps growing


in the heat of summer it grows REALLY fast. the hotter it is, the looser its heads.


sweetpea likes broccoli


molly loves broccoli and eats it very daintily


puppy loves broccoli and gobbles it down as fast as possible

sweetpea and radish greens

sweetpea munching on radish greens


just shoves her head right into her food


munching on a sliver of radish

crockpot pulled pork and homemade coleslaw

i love those crock pot liner bags. they make cleanup so much easier.
pork in the crockpot with the rootbeer


shredding the pork. i used porkchops because the store didnt have pork shoulder and these were the cheapest cuts of pork they did have. it worked out well.


shredded pork back in the crockpot


this is the barbeque sauce i use. it has a nice flavor without trying to melt my tongue off. i cant tolerate spicy things. i dont like the feeling of my mouth burning. pass, thank you. i didnt use the whole jar. but i'd rather have extra than not enough!


extra sauce is good when you know you'll be reheating it in the microwave. mmm, good stuff!


mixing up the coleslaw sauce


this was also very good. whoever had the idea to pair coleslaw with pulled pork is awesome.


Copycat KFC Coleslaw Serves: 8

Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or light)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 Tbls apple cider vinegar
2 Tbls lemon juice (fresh is best)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper (being me, i left this out and added extra celery seed)
1/2 tsp celery seed
16 oz shredded bagged cole slaw mix

Instructions
Whisk together all the ingredients except for the shredded cole slaw mix.
Add the bag and mix until nicely blended with the dressing.
Refrigerate 2-3 hours (or longer).
Mix well again just before serving.

http://www.momontimeout.com/2013/04/copycat-kfc-coleslaw/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872222780352/



Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches Serves: 8 sandwiches

Ingredients
2 lb pork loin roast (i used boneless thick cut butterflied pork loin chops. couldnt find pork shoulder at the grocery store that day, and tenderloin was so expensive.)
12 oz can of root beer (i used a 20 oz bottle, it worked great)
18 oz bottle barbecue sauce (the jar i grabbed was 32 oz. didnt use it all, but used most of it.)
8 hamburger buns
coleslaw

Instructions
Place pork in slow cooker.
Pour root beer over the pork.
Cover and cook on low heat for 6 hours or until it shreds easily with two forks.
Remove pork and shred it using two forks.
Drain liquid from slow cooker.
Return shredded pork to slow cooker and stir in barbecue sauce.
Continue heating on low for an additional 30 minutes or until warmed up again.
Serve on hamburger buns with coleslaw if desired.

http://www.momontimeout.com/2014/08/slow-cooker-root-beer-pulled-pork-sandwiches/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872222780338/

its official

i signed up online to enter my pears in the state fair!

on august 17 i have to drive them down to the state fair to be judged. grow pears grow!

pesto chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs covered in pesto.


at the end of cooking, melt some cheese on top of the pesto


leftovers


Baked Pesto Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (i used 6 boneless skinless thighs, whole/not cut up)
1/2 cup basil pesto (i used an 8 oz jar = 1 cup)
1/2 cup grated low-fat mozzarella cheese (i used 6 slices of provolone cheese)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. (i skipped this step considering how much oil was in the jar of pesto i used.) Spread 1/4 cup pesto to lightly cover the bottom of the dish. Spread the chicken over the pesto, then spread the remaining pesto over the chicken.
3. Cover the dish with lid or foil and bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is barely cooked through.
4. Remove the lid/foil and sprinkle the cheese on top of the chicken. Put dish back into the oven, uncovered, and cook 5 minutes more until the cheese is melted. To lightly brown the cheese, you can broil the dish for another 2-3 minutes more. (i used a meat thermometer to check that the thighs had cooked to 160`)

Notes All of that yummy pesto in the bottom of is perfect to serve with rice, potatoes, or quinoa. Or just serve it right over the chicken. (most of the pesto i used stayed on top of the whole chicken thighs so there wasnt a whole ton on the bottom of the pan the way there would have been if i'd used cut up pieces)

to me, this was better as leftovers. i wasnt as impressed with it freshly cooked. i think i *will* try this recipe again, using a different kind of pesto. there were a few to choose from at the grocery store and i grabbed the plain basic one. the chicken turned out SO tender, having basically been boiled in oil from the pesto. i was careful in lifting the thighs out of the pan and letting them drain all that oil off. there was a lot of oil in this particular jar and it all separated as it cooked, leaving the good stuff on top of the chicken and the oil in the bottom of the pan.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872220826236/
http://mommyofamonster.com/2014/01/baked-pesto-chicken.html

new daylilies

the daylily society of minnesota had a sale yesterday, and my dad and i went and checked it out. i came home with four new daylily varieties! very good prices.


digging the second new flower bed larger to accommodate the colored daylilies i bought (as opposed to all the orange ones i already had).


the bunnies were chewing on my plants in this front garden. this is bunny tail grass nibbled practically down to the ground.


canterbury bells, heavily nibbled


the daylily society didnt scrimp on roots!
smith brothers daylilies




smith brothers flower picture on pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872223582730/

smith brothers planting location (for my reference, what i put where)


chicago apache daylilies




chicago apache flower picture on pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872223582711/

chicago apache location in the garden (so later when they finally bloom, i know what is what)


best seller daylily picked up earlier from the hennepin technical college plant sale




best seller location in the garden


scarlet orbit daylilies




scarlet orbit flower picture on pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872223582875/

scarlet orbit location in the garden


of the next group of photos, i'm unsure which is which, because they havent bloomed yet. but these are supposed to be either bela lugosi daylilies, or purple de oro daylilies. i got them both at the friends plant sale like 5 years ago. they were bare roots, and seem to have taken ages for them to catch up.

bela lugosi flower picture on pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872223583404/
purple de oro flower picture on pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872223583423/

the first one i was able to divide into four separate clumps. bela lugosi or purple de oro


location picture


this one divided into two clumps. location picture. purple de oro or bela lugosi.


swirling water daylilies




swirling water flower picture on pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872223583484/

swirling water daylily location picture


picture of the finished garden with all the new daylilies in it.


so all the colored daylilies are here, and all the orange daylilies are in a separate bed.


now with added bunny fencing (chicken wire)