Fall from the sky...

Well the moose is processed and put away, the yard is cleaned up, the boat is being put away, Green house is empty and set for next spring, the heater is on, the wood is cut and ready to go in to our new wood boiler, and as I write the first real snowfall is falling outside. With Christmas music playing I am getting in the mood for the winter that decided to arrive. But before I decorate for Christmas....
I wanted to post some pretty pictures of the fall leaves and fun before we are snowed in up to our ears. Most of these pictures were taken a few weeks ago BEFORE all the leaves fell. The golden leaves here are absolutely stunning! Check these out!

These are pictures Keith took when he got picked up for work. 

I love watching planes land on water!

 The colors from the air are amazing!!!

 Our house is the white speck on in the upper right corner, on the left side of the road

 WOW!

 Isaiah and I enjoying the nice weather and leaves

 Biking

 My 2 cute boys!

Tasty Tuesday~ Pumpkin Roll

OK, I know it is Wednesday but yesterday was a day full of cutting moose. I feel like that is all we have done for the last 2 weeks. Then I realized that is exactly what we have been doing! Helping others cut their moose and then cutting our own moose. I doubt this will be the last we cut meat this year but I am just glad ours is done and in the freezer. Now I can relax and start to enjoy Fall.... which I think has turned into winter since when I took Kaden to school yesterday morning, our truck was covered in white snowflakes. So I better enjoy the Fall as fast as I can. =) One of my favorite things to eat in the fall or Anytime for that matter, is PUMPKIN ROLLS!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them.... A LOT!!!! When we lived in Florida our friend Ryan would make these and bring me one. Oh I love them. Then when we moved up here he gave me his recipe. Thanks RYAN!

I make these with out egg and use egg re-placer, and I must say with eggs it works a lot better. With eggs it turns out with more of a fluffy cake, but since Kaden is allergic to eggs I make these with egg re-placer. It still tastes scrumptious but just not so fluffy. I always thought pumpkin rolls were hard to make and would just buy them at Walmart. But these are easy and are so yummy. They are nice to make for gifts and are always a great crowd pleaser for a party. They freeze well and are nice to make ahead and then when life gets busy for the holidays you can just pull them out of the freezer. Make some you will love it! Sit down and enjoy a piece while reading a book and drinking Hot chocolate. That is always what I dream about doing when I have time.... which hasn't happened yet. But one of these days it will!=)

Pumpkin Roll~ Ryan Maier's Recipe
Mix:
3 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin pie mix(if I don't have the mix I use pumpkin with cinnamon and all spice.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup flour

Spray a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with a edge pan with pam. Line pan with wax paper. Spray wax paper with pam. Pour pumpkin mixture in pan. Spread evenly around pan. It will be a thin layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and roll into a log. then let it cool completely. I refrigerate it for a while

Filling:
2 Tablespoons soft margerine
1 8oz pk cream cheese
1 cup powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Cream together. Carefully unroll log and remove Wax paper. spread filling on cake and re-roll. Wrap in foil or saran wrap. I use saran wrap. Chill or freeze. 

God Provides

A few post back, I posted that September becomes a month of waiting and waiting!  Well Keith headed out to hunt on Thursday afternoon, with our friend Brad Fox. The weather was BEAUTIFUL! We could not ask for nicer weather. Clear, Sunny and in the 40's. It was a quickly planned trip but with such a short notice, Keith realized he didn't pack as much junk that was not needed. Tent, water, food, sleeping bag, and hunting stuff. The two men headed off to the great wilderness of Alaska.... Sounds exciting doesn't it? =) The boys and I sent them off with hope that they would not have to be out till Tuesday, which is the last day of Moose hunting season. So the boys and I went through our Thursday and Friday just like our normal days. We even got out a big puzzle to work on while daddy was gone, thinking that they were not to be back till Tuesday. Well Saturday morning rolled around and I got a phone call. My breath caught, "Hello?" "Hi Tabitha, It's Danya" Breathe out, nope it wasn't Keith... After a few moments I hung up with her and was about to head to the next room and the phone rings again. I was thinking maybe Danya forgot to ask something so I answer it "Hello?" and what do I hear?.... a very static filled phone call! At this point I get excited because Keith's phone ALWAYS has static, plus i hear the boat engines behind him.  "Hey Love, can you come pick me up at the boat ramp?' I start screaming "YAY!!!!!! HE GOT A MOOSE!!!!" Kaden and Isaiah start doing a little dance. So then we madly get dressed and run out the door and hook up the boat trailer and head down to the river.When we arrived at the boat ramp, we could see the antlers sticking out of the boat, it was then that I let out the pent up breathe that I was holding all month. RELIEF!!! Praise the Lord he provided a moose! PRAISE THE LORD!! What a blessing! This moose will provide meat for both Brad and our family, plus some others who needed meat for the winter coming up. RELIEF!

This is the Sunrise a few hours before he shot his moose on Friday Morning.

 The very small camp they set up. Small was good because if they would have added more weight to the boat after putting a moose in it they would not have made it home.

 The moose

 And the mighty hunter

 The other mighty hunter Brad.

 Getting this moose shot, cut and carried out was a partnership that both men said was HARD and pushed them to their limit of exhaustion!

 

 The WORK begins.... They had to skin it, quarter it, cut all the meat out and then pack(which means CARRY) it all out to the boat which was a distance over rough terrain. It took them from morning when they shot it till about 8 PM to get it all to the boat! I said it was HARD! Both Men looked BEAT when they got home the next day!

 50 inch moose. Not sure how they measure it but I think it is big!

 I am very proud of the guys! Keith told me Sunday morning that he also felt relief knowing that he provided for our family.  What a Blessing God provided us with.

"And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in Glory in Christ Jesus" 

Philippians 4:23

DREADED PINK & YELLOW Slips

OK you fellow RVAers, How many of you remember the DREADED PINK SLIPS??? Yeah you remember, the ones that arrived in 1st period, you hear a "KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK" at the door and these slips appear in through the crack in the door. Then the whole class takes a big breath till the teacher reads out the name. After the name is read, you hear the WHOLE class exhale as it was not their names that were called out. I don't know which was worse the thought of having to go to the doctor or the LONG WALK UP HILL!!!  I think the walk was more intimidating then the doctor. No wonder they made you sit in the waiting area for what I felt like was FOREVER, it was so we could get our blood pressure back to normal. 

  But when we were sick, I remember Mrs. Mann always was the mama figure that would be comforting and bring you big cups of flavored koolaid, which I thought was medicine in itself. That stuff was amazing and could cure anything! Seriously it was delicious! And Mrs. Mann would bring you fresh toast from the bread that was made that day at her house. No wonder we would all want to be sick on Mrs. Mann's shift! SHE WAS AWESOME! You fellow students know the sigh of relief when you walked into the Infirmary and saw her name on the white board as "Nurse on Duty"!

The other day I was going through some boxes of things that I have kept for some reason or other. I found these and got a good laugh and I could not bear to throw them away, so I put them back in the box for memories sake. Here are the DREADED PINK SLIPS! But at least it was one of my favorite Doctors..... Dr. Byrne! I didn't mind getting this when her name was at the bottom!=)

 OK, How many of you remember the DOUBLE DREADED YELLOW SLIPS???? Yes these were the WORST!!! The DENTIST SLIPS!! Man I hated these! I still get goosebumps just thinking about getting one of these slips. The dentist slips even had a map on the back to show you were to go. Like we needed a map! All we had to do was follow the sound of drills and kids screaming.... OK Not kids screaming. I can still remember the even longer walk down to the Kijabe Hospital, walking into the hospital that smelled like sterilized floor cleaner. I can't remember the brand name but, OH MAN, I can remember that smell. Then waiting in those wonderful(cough) dentist chairs with the plastic tarp thing wrapped around your neck, and that horrible tasting tooth paste polish stuff that they put in your mouth. You know that gritty Fruit Loop flavored stuff that felt like sand in your mouth? Yeah, that stuff helped develop my gag reflex really well! YUCK!

I remember one time when they took care of some fillings on both sides so they gave me that shot that numbs your mouth..... for HOURS!! Then I had the whole walk UP the mountain to try and get feeling back into my mouth so I didn't drool all over my desk in English class. HOW EMBARRASSING!!.... Surely I am not the only RVA student that dreaded these 2 colored slips!  You know you all did it! I just can believe I kept them for memories sake. But I did, Guess I will keep them so I can tell my grand kids about it one day. And I won't have to exaggerate on the up hill climb both ways because when you live on the side of a mountain and the Infirmary was at the top of campus and the hospital was at the very bottom, you had to walk up hill going to BOTH!

Here was the DOUBLE DREADED DENTIST SLIP! hahaha what memories!! 

Tasty Tuesday~ Mexican food

Well I think my blood is running thin on Mexican food because I have a craving for it! What I would do for a Enchilada plate from Mamasita's in San Antonio or the Avocado Chicken from La Casona in Lake Jackson, add some good salsa and queso along with some tamales. .... OOOOHHHH how good that sounds!! I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD! I guess I should say TEX-MEX food but oh I could eat it all the time! I do make a lot of Mexican food here in Galena and anytime we go to Texas I bring back a supply of tamales. I have 2 dozen left in my freezer and I am saving them for Christmas eve which is a tradition in my family.  I am not sure how the Tradition started but I love it. Mexican food for Christmas eve, can't get any better then that!  Since I am in a Texas mood, today's Tasty Tuesday is going to be a few of my favorite Mexican food recipes.

These recipes are some home favorites. I may be married to a Puerto Rican with 2 African-Rican kids but they have adopted Mexican food as a staple in our house. And No Puerto Rican food is NOT like Mexican food. I will have to post some recipes of some traditional Puerto Rican recipes one day.

 If you want an AMAZING Queso for a party this is it! We have it on Christmas Eve at my Aunt Lari's house. It is awesome! No Christmas party is right with out it! I could stand around the crock pot all night eating this queso! It is DELICIOUS! Make sure you have enough chips. =)

Lari's Queso (this is a BIG recipe, if you want to half it you could)
 2lbs Velvetta
1 pound sausage (browned)
1 pound hamburger(browned and I think she puts taco seasoning in it)
8 oz cream cheese
1 can cream of Chicken soup
1 cream of mushroom soup
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can green chillies
Brown meat, and put all ingredients in a crock pot. Turn on and let it melt all together. Stir occasionally.  You can melt it over the stove and then put it into the crock pot to keep it hot. Get the chips ready! DELISH!!!

Here in Galena before I make anything with tortillas, I have to make them. Trust me when I say if I lived where tortillas were available I would BUY THEM!  One thing I miss about Texas is HEB Plus where they make their flour tortillas right there in front of you. The problem with buying the hot off the press was that they hardly EVER made it out to the parking lot. We usually ate them... ALL! =) The same thing happens here at home when I make them. I usually have to HIDE them or we would eat them all, and after all the work to make them, I would like them to last at least 2 days!=) I do NOT make corn tortillas, I have family members ship them to me by the boxes and then I freeze them. But this is my Flour Tortillas recipe.

Flour Tortillas
4-5 cups Flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 big Tablespoon shortening.( I use butter flavored)
2 cups warm water.
Mix 4 cups flour with salt, baking powder. Then cut in shortening till blended in good. then add water. Mix well. Roll into balls (about 20-30 )and let sit 10 minutes(this is very important). Roll out and cook. I have an electric tortilla press that presses and cooks them all at the same time. Works great!
~These freeze Great, with wax paper between about every 5.
~Our favorite way to eat these is with honey on them for dessert

Chicken Enchiladas
2 cups cooked deboned chicken
2 cups sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can chopped green chillies
1 small onion finely chopped and sauteed
Cheddar cheese
12 flour tortillas

Cut the Chicken into little pieces. Mix soup(undiluted), sour cream, chilies, onion. Divided mixture in half. Mix chicken into one portion of soup. Place some chicken mixture in  each tortilla and roll up. Place face down in a 9X13 pan. Pour remaining sauce over all the wrapped tortillas. Sprinkle Cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. *these can be frozen really well too, just leave cheese off until you are ready to bake it.

And for Dessert....One of my favorite cakes ever is the Mexican Tres Leches Cake! Moist and Delicious!

Tres Leches Cake
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
Cream Syrup for Soaking (see recipe below)
Whipped Topping (see recipe below)

Combine flour and baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add the eggs to the sugar mixture one at a time until well combined. Stir in the 1/2 cup of milk, then gently fold in the flour mixture a little at a time.
Pour batter into a lightly greased cake pan or baking dish and bake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until it feels firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let the cake cool until it feels room temperature. Turn it over onto a platter with raised edges. Pierce cake with a fork  20-30 times. Let it cool in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes.
  Cream Syrup 
12 oz. evaporated milk
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon rum or brandy (optional)
Whisk together the three milks and the rum or brandy if you are using it. Slowly pour the liquid over the cooled cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Occasionally, spoon the milk runoff back onto the cake.
  Whipped Topping
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
In a chilled mixing bowl add heavy cream, vanilla and sugar. Beat on high speed until peaks form. Spread a thin layer over the cake.
Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon or garnish with fresh berries.I like to cover it with Coconut! Delicious!

An Anxious Heart

Have you ever had those times where you plan something really important and you wait, and you wait and wait and then all the building anticipation sets you up for a let down when things don't turn out like you think they will? All that anticipation, the waiting, the excitement all to just be squashed like a peanut sitting on a railroad track. And if you have never put a peanut on the railroad track, the song is correct.... TOOT TOOT Peanut Butter! This week I kind of feel like peanut butter. You see it is moose season here in Alaska. One of the most important times of the year because this is the season that you get to fill your freezers with meat for the LONG winter ahead. The whole month of September is a busy month! The men (and some women, though I was told by a man that woman can't hunt because their place is in the home and they don't know how to hunt. Yeah I would like to see Keith try to tell me that!) Anyways, People are out hunting, putting up with cold, rainy, windy weather, trying to get a moose. Moose is our survival meat. When a bag of chicken is close to $30, moose becomes A MUST! So far the hunting let downs this month have been making me feel a bit like peanut butter.

Keith has been out hunting every possible moment that he can since the beginning of September. This weekend he went out with 3 other guys in hopes of being able to get 3 moose. One of the guys is new to Alaska this year and can't hunt. We sent them out on Friday with nicer weather and two boats full of gas and food and all the things you need to hunt with, while all the wives and kids at home tracked  them with their GPS SPOT tracking device. Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday were the kind of days that I don't like very much, the WAITING! I am not good at waiting! But I was very hopeful! Surely with 4 guys and 2 boats they would come back with a load of moose. On Sunday, I got the call from Keith arriving at the boat ramp "I didn't get a moose, but Arne did. Come pick us up" I was both excited and disappointed. At least they got one moose! Thank you Lord! But that also means Keith has to continue going out hunting till he gets another one. We figured we went through about half a moose last year so we need at least that this year. Arne was gracious to divide his moose up and give all in the hunting party some. That means we do have moose in our freezer, which is a great relief. However Keith is hoping to hunt till he gets one, so that we can share more with Arne and the other 2 guys. I guess I have been a little disappointed. With my hubby gone for the last 3 weeks hunting, the weather turning bad and my kids asking when Daddy is going to get a moose and come home, I just get a little anxious. OK A LOT ANXIOUS!! Did I mention I am not very good at waiting?  But who is? I know God will provide for our needs because he promises that! And I know he can calm my anxious heart. These verses keep rolling through my brain. I am so glad I have these to give me encouragement!

Matthew 6:25-34
25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink ; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing ? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life ? 28 "And why are you worried about clothing ? Observe how the lilies of the field grow ; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith ! 31 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will wear for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things ; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow ; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I know many families are still waiting and hunting for moose. So pray for us all as we try to wait with patience and calmness.  This month is always the most stressful to many families and I know we could use all the prayer we can get. Pray that we get the moose we need and that the winter weather will hold off till the end of moose season. Pray also for the wives and families of the men going out to hunt as we wait and pray for safety of the men as they are out on the rivers.

Cabbage going out of our ears!

Coleslaw, cabbage rolls, salads, Corn-beef & Cabbage, Stew, stir-fry, Kimchi, sauerkraut...OK not the kimchi or sauerkraut because I don't like either one of these, but what else do you do with about 40 heads of cabbage? YES you heard me right! ABOUT 40 heads of cabbage. We bought an extra fridge just to accommodate cabbages. If you wrap them in saran wrap they keep for months, so we will be able use them for a while but right now I am trying all kinds of recipes for using cabbage. If you have any good recipes for cabbage send them my way. I found a yummy cabbage salad that we have really liked.

Crunchy Cabbage Salad
5 cups cabbage
1 pk ramen noodles crushed
1/2 cup almond slivers
1/2-1 cup cranberries or raisins

Mix all the ingredients together and do not add dressing till ready to serve or noodles will get soggy..

Dressing:
1/2 oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar

Mix together well and let sit together for 20 minutes, mix well then pour over salad mix well and serve.
FYI~This salad doesn't save for later well!