Vegetables ...

I would love to have a garden

I've tried planting tomatoe plants but the squirrels love tomatoes

so they are always taking bites out of the ones on the vine

so I just gave up

I tried all of the tricks but nothing worked

those dang squirrels in my yard are a hardy bunch!!

and I just don't have a good area that gets 6+ hours of sun

so I buy my vegetables from produce stands in our area

but I also have wonderful friends who have gardens and love to

share their bounty with us!

yumm, one of the best things about summer, fresh veggies!!

later...

Banana Pudding ...

There are so many recipes out there for banana pudding

but I like mine.....because it's easy, fast and oh so good!!

first layer, vanilla wafers

next, banana pudding (I use the instant)

next, sliced up banana's

another layer of vanilla wafers

then a layer of vanilla creme pudding, also the instant pudding

more sliced up banana's

and now the final layer, cool whip

and as a finishing touch, very lightly sprinkle cinnamon on top

this is such an easy recipe and as good as any other out there!!

later...



Table and chairs ....

I can't remember if I posted the new table and chairs for the kitchen

but I'm posting again!!

I went to so many furniture stores looking for what I wanted

I wanted a black table, one that would go 3 different sizes

and I wanted solid wood

Well, after searching everywhere I found out that furniture stores

don't carry much solid wood furniture

So I decided to go to the unfinished furniture store and I was

very happy to find out their furniture IS solid wood

and not only that, I could pretty much design my own furniture

we picked out our table top, the table legs

the backs to the chairs and the legs

and then picked out the finish

because it is custom made and has a factory finish on it

it was going to take about 6 weeks to get it in

but that was fine with me......

and this table goes 4 lengths

60", 82", 102" and 120"

more than enough for all of us!!!

and yes, that's plastic still on the chair cushions! haha

I have now bought the scotchguard, I just need to find the time to apply it

I couldn't be happier with this set. And knew that I wanted to get the

bar stools from the same store but in red. Then the other day I received

a card in the mail that they are going out of business so I'm not sure I can

still order those. I'm going to stop by there sometime soon and find out.

and that's too bad about them going out of business...they have great

furniture, good prices and are nice people to deal with.

later.........



Crab cakes ...

Johnny and I are down at the beach for a week

ahhh, such a wonderful time!

and while at the beach

we like to eat out some but also like to stay in on some nights

So on Tuesday we headed over to Austin's fish market to pick up

some crab meat for crab cakes

I normally make crab cakes with bread crumbs, old bay and a little mayo

but at the market I bought a packet called

Old Bay Crab Cake Classic 

the recipe on the back calls for mayo but I didn't have any and didn't

feel like going to the store.....

so I just mixed the crab meat with an egg and the old bay packet

they formed up great with no bread crumbs

then I go to cook them in the frying pan and the oil in the cabinet

had expired in 2011...haha! And it smelled old too

Again, to avoid going to the store, I just used butter

which was a little tricky as I wanted to make sure I didn't brown the butter

and wow.......these were the best crab cakes I've ever made!!

I don't know if it was cooking them in butter or using the "crab classic" pack

or maybe a combo of both but they sure were good

I will def be making them just like this in the future

later.....