Life really can be a picnic!

Everyone loves a picnic! This blog is about some of the things I love the most, and the term "picnic" just about covers them all. First of all, a picnic has to include food; simple food that is easy to fix. Next, you need someplace fun or different to visit; a nice, peaceful location. And of course, you always need to take along a good book to read and a well-used quilt to spread everything out on. So, there you have it! Easy recipes, good books, fun quilts along with some interesting, down-to-earth places to visit. You can even take your family or a friend or two if you want.



Sunday, November 22, 2015

Thanks!

"For each new morning with it's light,
  For rest and shelter of the night,
  For health and food, for love and friends,
  For everything thy goodness sends."~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


     Thanksgiving is almost here and it's always been one of my very favorite holidays.  I don't know why anyone would want to miss out on it by going shopping.  My friend, Dana and I got to go into Salt Lake City to the Little America Hotel and see the Holiday Quilt Show. There were some beautiful quilts there.  Each one was hand quilted.  The show went until Friday, the day the quilts were auctioned off and all the money went for medical research.  Here are pictures of some of my favorites.



























 
I just wanted to include a couple of recipes I think are wonderful for November.  I was surprised at how good the meatloaf was and the cranberry sauce recipe comes from my husband's aunt.  So it's an old family favorite that everyone loves.
 
 





Turkey Meatloaf
2 Tbsp. butter
1 medium granny smith apple, cored and diced
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped onion
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup bread crumbs
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 ¼ lbs. ground turkey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.  Melt butter in skillet over medium heat and cook apple, celery and onion until soft and translucent, about 6-8 minutes.  Let cool.  Whisk together eggs, milk, poultry seasoning and salt in large bowl.  Stir in bread crumbs and cheese until well combined.  Add ground turkey and onion mixture and lightly mix until well combined.  Do not over mix.  Press mixture into loaf pan and cover with foil.  Bake until cooked through, about 1 hour and 15 minutes (165 degrees in center of loaf).  Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy.

 
 


Cranberry Pineapple Relish
2 cups cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup boiling water
½ cup crushed pineapple
Juice of ½ an orange
1 medium delicious apple, shredded
Cook cranberries in water until skins pop. Add sugar and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Cool.  Add remaining ingredients and chill thoroughly.













     I have been wanting to read this book for quite some time.  I read it just in time for the movie to come out.  This is such a fantastic book about forgiveness.  If we could all just be as forgiving as this man was, the world would be a much better place for all of us to live in.





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