Texas Torpedoes…

For those of you not from Texas, jalapeño is pronounced hah lah pain yo. You gotta be able to say it correctly to learn this recipe! Most people think of the jalapeño as being extremely hot, but it actually varies from mild to hot on how it was grown and how it was prepared. These stuffed japs are actually very mild…

INGREDIENTS:

10 large green jalapeños

1 package 8oz. cream cheese

10 slices bacon,cut in half

12 oz. ground sausage ( I prefer Owens)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.    Place ground sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown.
3.    Drain sausage and place in a medium bowl. Mix with the cream cheese.
4.    Cut jalapeños in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds. Stuff each jalapeño half with equal portions of the sausage and cream cheese mixture.Micowave bacon slices for 45 seconds on high. Wrap with half slices of bacon. Secure bacon with toothpicks.
5.    Arrange wrapped jalapeños in a large, shallow baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 20 minutes, or until the bacon is evenly brown.

Nice large greens jalapeños...

Do this underwater...

Slice and de-seed the japs under water…it will save you from teary eyes and coughing from the jalapeños fumes…

Ready to stuff...cold beer helps

This is the fun part...

Ready for the oven...

We served these last night as an appetizer. They really do compliment most foods. We followed them with spinach enchiladas and chalupas compuestas. I am not sure which name I like better, Texas Torpedoes or Armadillo Eggs…just saying…

Remembering Buda…

She was always a beautiful subject...

It made no difference. Whether I was leaving or coming home I always seem to catch her in my eye. She had a truly magnificent flair to her gait. When the grass was tall she flowed with it in the wind. She had such a sweet expression. She was sleek and radiant. As I drove her to her final resting place yesterday, I remembered the poem called “Rainbow Bridge” Click Here to read it. When you lose a four-legged friend you will understand…just saying.

You should have seen it before…

After cleaning it...

Pony rides, ghost stories, campfires and smores…

So what else are little girls made of ? Leicalady and I hosted Anna and Avery for a Saturday night sleep over. I am not sure who had more fun…the little girls or Dana and me. I wanted to have some ghost stories to play Saturday night by the campfire so I searched  iTunes and found what I thought was a great (age appropriate) audio book of ghost stories. Included were the stories “Rain Thing” and “The Ticket Taker”. Dana insisted on previewing them before.   After listening to the first few lines of “Rain Thing” she vetoed the ghost story idea saying that they are just little girls and those stories were way to scary! We really did have a good time. They rode Pony Boy, had a cookout by the campfire, searched for bones in the back pasture (found a skull) and made smores.

Pony Boy, Avery and Anna

Fun times...

Sunday morning after fixin’ pancakes, scrambled eggs and chocolate milk I asked the little girls if they liked ghost stories. They both said YES!!!! So I looked over to Dana and she reluctantly nodded her head in approval. Well not only did they listen to the entire audio book but we had to play it over at least three times. (I sent the CD home with them) Its funny how my instincts work. I know about raisin’ boys but Leicalady and I never had any daughters…just saying.

Sustainable development…

San Antonio coal powered power plant...

I love nature. I love the beauty that I see everyday. But I do worry about how long it will last. How do we sustain the balance between human needs and the beauty of nature? The goal of  maintaining the balance and conservation of our natural resources has been increasingly becoming clear in the last twenty years. I am a firm believer in a concept called “sustainable development.”Put forth  by the United Nations in the late 1980’s, it is defined as “a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and the institutional change are in harmony and enhance both current and future generations to meet their needs.” It is like a symbiotic relationship. There should be a mutual benefit between the developmental process and environment protection.

We must judiciously use the resources that are available in plenty and support them without pollution or depletion. We should restrict the use of already endangered resources and protect them from further development. We should all make our actions eco-friendly.  We are the pinnacle of the evolutionary process. Consequently, we have a greater responsibility towards maintaining the balance between nature and development.

Just saying…

Have you ever had a bad day?

There are some days when you should never get out of bed.  You somehow just know you are going to have a bad day. There even some days when you do not know you are going to have a bad day but have one anyway. We have all made stupid mistakes. We have all felt like the unluckiest person in the world. Often the only thing that makes us feel better is to hear stories from people who have been there, or far worse. But what about animals? Do they have bad days too? I was on my way home last night when I saw this poor guy who definitely got up on the wrong side of the pasture…

Boy do I feel stupid...

I looked around to see if I could find his owner but nobody was in sight. I know better than to cross a fence line without permission, “trespassin’”, so I felt helpless. I watched him for a few minutes while he did his best to free himself from the chair…

This is not funny...

I am going to get this off...

Almost got it...

Oh well, tomorrow is another day...

As he walked away to the pasture I yelled at him and reminded him that things could be worse…he could have been at Mc Donalds between two buns…just saying…

Campfire Cookin’…

Cooking over a campfire is one of those things in life that you just can’t explain to someone that’s never done it! You just can’t bottle the smell of chicken grilling on the open campfire. Leicalady, Peyton and I had a great time last night cooking over three campfires…

Sky and I went down early to prepare our campsite...

Table for three is all set...

Essentials...

More essentials...

The sky was a beautiful blue...

Leicalady, Peyton and Spooky soon joined us. Mode of transportation was the reliable Pony Boy…

Out of the woods...

Spooky was most excited to be with us...

I had decided to keep the menu simple…grilled chicken and garlic sausage, fresh green beans with mushrooms and onions, grilled cajun corn on the cob, tossed mixed green salad with walnuts, craisuns, feta cheese and Raspberry vinaigrette dressing(Christopher’s recipe) and sliced ciabatta bread…

These turned out great...

Daddy Bub's grilled chicken recipe with butter & lemon...

Peyton flippin' the chicken...

Almost ready...

It was beginning to get dark when we started eating.There is something about eating outdoors. Maybe that there are no distractions has a lot to do with it…anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. We concluded the evening listening to all the wild critters yacking at each other. Leicalady rode Pony Boy back home…

Spooky loved the Pony Boy ride...

Happy trails to you...

Red Fred and his dinner…

As usual, Red Fred was on his favorite telephone pole when I spotted him yesterday on the way home from work. But something was different…

Hello Mr. Parish...

He was pecking at something...

I stopped for a closer look and was surprised to see Red Fred chowing down on some little critter…

That is an awfully big bite Red Fred!

The many faces of a smile….

Leicalady and I were enjoying the afternoon. Bailey was really being quite the gentleman…feeling very special about being in the “yard”. I asked Dana to please take our picture…I never knew a pony could actually smile…look closely and you will see a beautiful grin on his face…

Bailey we are going to take our picture...

A smile is a sign of love...

A smile is a sign of care...

A smile is a sign of trust...

A smile is a sign of joy...

Gopher it…

I think I found something...

Anybody home?

Deeper and deeper...

Spooky says I will help you Sky...

Nothing there...