The Finish---another month ?

    (Chicken and Dumplings)   


    Well, the end of the month is upon us. Today I bought some lettuce and fresh vegetables and fruit, but otherwise I have spent only a tiny bit of money at the grocery store.  The good news is--it was really easy.  The bad (?) news is--I could probably do it another month. There is a lot of food in this house.  Am I a hoarder ?  lol


    I have been busy this month with a lot of outside the house stuff.  I still haven't canned all those bags of beans, although I have bought a few boxes of lids. I do this every year in the spring, when I am in a store that sells them, I buy a few extra boxes, and painlessly build up my stash of what I will need when the garden canning time comes. The price of lids goes up every year and right now around here is at about 2.25 for regular mouth lids and 3.15 for wide mouth--a dozen in each box. So... you can see how easy it would be to spend a hundred dollars on lids alone (If you can like I do). 

  The weather is bizarre.In the 70's again today. The neighbors forsythia is in bloom. The lilies around my yard are at least 5 inches high. 

  I made this batch of chicken and dumplings to give some to a friend's daughter who was DYING for some. lol  I made the dumplings from scratch--and used home canned chicken breast and broth for the rest. My granny always made the biscuit type dumplings, little pillows floating on top of the rich broth and chicken. Those will ALWAYS be my favorite. This recipe (like Cracker Barrel serves) is called Southern Dumplings and is really just like my homemade egg noodles. They cook up plump and yummy and you just can't go wrong.

 Roll 'em out, cut 'em with a pizza wheel and drop 'em in the simmering broth.  Comfort food at it's finest.



   Tonight we're having bbq ribs, red potatoes boiled with the jackets on, and salad. I have some leftover rice in there I thought I'd make a small rice pudding with for dessert. Sounds yummy, doesn't it ? 


   I have about 2 hours until himself walks in the door from work. He will be tired and hungry. We got a new puppy--her name is Myma (Irish Gaelic for beloved). She is a miniature beagle/min pin mix.  She is adorable, and as always when there is a new baby animal in the house, everyone is adapting. The 2 big dogs have been good (so far).  The cats are not impressed.  I am laughing all the time as she tries to chase Molly up and down the hall and Bella tries to decide if she's a predator. Myma is under 2 pounds and 8 weeks old. lol   Both dogs get terribly distressed when she cries (when I put her in her box to sleep and she wants out). It's very sweet, actually.  I think tomorrow we will go to PetCo and see if we can find a tiny harness so I can take her outside on the leash.   I always forget how much work a new puppy is....but still, it's fun.  Here she is:  making her escape. And believe me, she pole vaults right over the side of that box !

  Alright. I need to head to the kitchen.  Life is good, here on Honeysuckle Hill !!!