Best Ever Pimento Cheese

(Repeat post by popular demand)

I'm not a big fan of Pimento cheese but I've always wanted to make some. I checked out a few recipes online and put different ideas together and came up with one that I like.

I pulled out the old grater and start grating. I did not use the pre-shredded cheese because I heard it does not work as well, so I didn't take a chance.

I had my husband do the garlic mincing since Ive never in my life tried to do that. So together, we made a wonderful pimento cheese worth eating. Oh man! Is it good! I'll never opt for the store bought kind again unless I'm in a pinch for time or convenience.

Pimento Cheese

2 cups shredded sharp cheese

2 cups Pepper Jack cheese

1 block cream cheese (room temp for easy mixing)

1 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons pimentos

1 clove of garlic (minced)

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

salt and pepper

Just mix it all up and its ready to eat

If you do not really like pimentos, then opt for sweet red peppers instead. Then you can call it, pepper cheese. ...OK that sounds cheesy. But they say it works just as well as pimentos with hardly a change in the taste.

Loss of Hearing

Seriously, I think im loosing my hearing in one ear. Not sure whats going on in there.

Its been nearly three weeks now. I have suffered with a stopped up ear. It started out as both ears but one was fine within a day or two. That give me a little bit of hope for the other one.
The left one however is another story. The sounds around me are buffered. My ear buzzes like the florecent lights at the doctors office. This leaves me feeling dizzy and off sided. Its annoying. I cant seem to concentrate and I just want to scream. The feeling is like that pressure you get when you go up a mountian. A simple yawn or chewing of gum will pop them right back to normal. But none of the tricks are working for me.

I suffer allergies something terrible. If I dont take Allegra daily, then I suffer as if I have a full blown cold. Its normal for my ears to ache and ring at times but this is not going away. I went to the doctor last week. He looked inside my ears and said "Well, I dont see a problem, they are white and clean down there". Of course they are!!!! Ive tried everything. Eardrops, alcohol, peroxide and Q-tips. Of course they are clean. But hey, Im glad there is no infection.

The doctor suggested I change my allergy medicine to Allegra D. He thinks its just my allergies causeing the problem. The "D" formula supose to have a decongestant in it. So five days on that, nothing. I mean really nothing. Now I cant even hear out of that side. I close off the right ear and the left ear is just dead. I cant even hear when I touch it. Its like numb.

I did my own reasearch and all my symptoms lead to my own diagnosis of
"blocked Eustachian Tubes".

Im really hoping that soon, the ear will finally pop and I can hear out of it once again. Until, then, everyone will continue to sound like they are talking to me from outside of a drum and Im just going to have to get used to it. 

Overnight Oats

I like oatmeal. Its good for you and it fills your tank. Keeps you going without the urge to eat until its time for your next meal.

The classic way I used to eat oatmeal was how mom prepared them. I could never make them taste as good as hers even if I did it the excact same way. She would serve them warm, coated with sugar and wading in cream milk. It was so good paired with cinnimon toast.

I try to eat less sugar now, I will usually opt for the instant fruity flavored oatmeal packs for a quick breakfast. I still like those, but latley I have been experimenting with "overnight oats". Basically, its equal  amounts of quick oats or rolled oats and almond milk combined in a mason jar and sat in the fridge over night. 

The next morning your breakfast is ready (if you like it cold). My husband can eat it cold and has approved this with a thumbs up. Me on the other hand have to warm it up a bit.

Im going to share some flavors for overnight oats that I have experimented with. So far they are all good. After the base ingredience of milk and oats I guessed at the add ins. 

Base:

1 Cup- Quick Oats

1 Cup- Almond Milk 

Flavors to mix in:

Peanut butter Banana

1 tablespoon peanut butter.

1 small banana

Peanut Butter and Jelly

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon jelly or jam

Strawberry shortcake

1 tablespoon strawberry jam

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon syrup

Banana Nut Bread

1 small banana

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Nuts

Lemon poppy seed (least tasty)

Juice of one lemon

2 teaspoon poppyseed

1 tablespoon syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

The possibilities are endless. Just add stuff you like. Peaches, blueberries, or strawberries.

You can replace the almond milk with yogurt, or regular milk.

Ive even seen recipes where they added pudding powder for flavor such as chocolate or cheesecake 

If you come up with another idea for flavor, I'd love to hear about it.

Memories- Fried Chicken

Its Sunday afternoon and im sitting here relaxing. Im also thinking about grandmaw.

I remember growing up, we always went to Grandmaws after church for Sunday dinner. She had two long tables spread with food. All the aunts, uncles and cousins would be there. Everyones favorite was the fried chicken. It would often be in a dish sitting beside a fried squirrel or rabbit. As I can remember, at one time, she did all the preparing herself from ringing their necks to plucking and skinning. Then she would fry them in her own special batter.

The family grew bigger, she grew older and papaw passed away, so there came a time she had to give it up. The smell of Sunday dinner was forever absorbed in the walls of that old house. She later moved into a retirement home where we visited often. I wish I would have visited more. I can still vision her standing in the kitchen with silver wavey hair, wearing a handmade shirt and apron trimmed with ruffles. 

Up until the day she passed away, there would always be chicken on her stove top, in a basket wraped in a tea towel. It did not seem to matter to anyone that it sat out all day or that it was cold. It was grandmaws fried chicken and it was good either way. She always had chicken, cornbread and some sort of cake or fritters waiting for company.

As years passed, my family would still enjoy chicken dinners after church but we would all head down to Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was not near as good as grandmaws, but with a family of six, it was an affordable way to feed us. A bucket of extra crunchy chicken with all the fixins would satisfy.

This past weekend, the family met for my brothers birthday dinner. No, we didnt have chicken even though mom can make it almost like her mom. We had country style steak instead. While visiting, somebody found an old kentucky fried chicken bucket, dated 1969, laying around. 

We all got a good laugh as we always joke how mom keeps a lot of stuff. Then we talked about how we used to fight over the extra crispy flakes left in the bottom of the bucket once the chicken was gone. Dont worry, this was an unused bucket. KFC had let mom have some buckets once so she could turn them into pinatas for a festival at church once or twice. 

Not sure why she still has this bucket, but it triggered memories.

A Walk After The Storm

Finally, we have been getting some some rain. They come as small afternoon storms after a very hot day. I love the smell of rain, the rattle of thunder and feel of stormy winds. I like to stand under the carport and watch the storms roll in. Here is a picture of the sky as a storm was approaching.

After the storm was over, the sun started peeping back through the clouds. It was now safe for us to journey out for our walk.

A quarter mile up the road, I came across a dead clown. Yes I poked at it and made sure it was dead if that even matters. I threw it up in a tree just for kicks. The next day, it was back in the road again so I tossed it back into the tree. It is sill there. Its creepy looking but every time we drive past it, we get laugh.

As we were walking around the neighborhood, I noticed a tree that looked like it had long string beans hanging from it. I texted my mom and asked her what kind of tree was this? The only answer she could give me was that it looked like just a vine. Thanks mom!

I did a quick search online and found out that its a "Catalpa Tree" aka Indian Bean tree. The bean pods grow up to two feet long. These trees are often planted by fishermen because they attract award winning fish bait called the catalpa worm. The worms can actually be frozen for a year then thawed and used when fishing time comes around. Cool huh.

Walking on down the street a little ways, I came across another tree, but this one had what looked like pea pods hanging from it. So I snapped another photo.

One google search later, I found out that its an "Eastern Red bud Tree". In the spring, this tree promotes a beautiful purple pink floral showcase. In the summer, the seeds pod and look like peas.

Funny how some things you never really notice until after a storm. Much like life itself.

The clown? I'm not sure of its story but obviously, no one wants to mess with it.