Today was an ordinary day around our home. Not much happening, just chores and hobbies. For lunch I made this BBQ and Bisquits recipe that I learned from Charmaine. It was delicious. I mixed 2 lbs cooked ground beef with two large cans of Manwich for the BBQ part. Normally I would make my own, but our amish bent and dent store sells the large cans so cheaply that it's much cheaper to buy it than make it. But I did make my own sourdough biscuits. (The recipe calls for refrigerator biscuits.) It was a real hit with my family. (This is a large 12 quart cast iron dutch oven.)
Almost every Sunday after morning church, our family has roast beef dinner. I put a completely frozen bottom round roast in a cold oven around 8:50 am, a minute before we walk out the door. The last thing I do before leaving is turn the oven on to 300 degrees. When we get home, anywhere between 1:30 and 2:30, the roast is perfectly done. That's about 4-5 hours. And my roast is never dried out. If I put a non-frozen roast in for that long at 280 degrees, it is perfectly done also, but usually a little dried out.

Anyhow, during the week, we always have veggie beef soup with the leftover roast beef. Usually we have the soup Sunday evening after evening church, but this week we didn't have it until Wednesday. But my family really enjoyed the soup this week. The reason? I added 2 cups of bottled salsa that I am trying to finish up. So try it next time you make soup.

Today Mike took the children to the "back forty" again for more shooting fun.

My children really enjoying shooting. They were gone for almost 2 hours in that bitterly cold weather! I got to stay home in my blissfully quiet house and cut out quilt kits. Everyone was cold and red when they finally came in. They warmed up long enough to defrost, then headed back out again to stack firewood. They will sleep well tonight!

Maggie is making Hoppin Johns for dinner tonight. Ever hear of it? She tried making it last night, but when we cooked the white beans, they never softened up. We figure it must be because of our hard water here. I'll let you know how tonight's batch works out.

Hope you had a good day too. Prepare your heart now for the sermon tomorrow.

Many blessings ~ Kathie

Black Friday

Yesterday's Thanksgiving celebration was fun. All my brothers and their families eventually showed up. Dad came, but Mom stayed home with a headache that wouldn't go away.
We had fun playing games with Dad all afternoon.
Allen and Cody enjoyed several rounds of checkers and chess.
Floyd and Cecilia always find relief from the noisy crowd in the living room. When I took this picture I thought Cecilia was sleeping. But she yelled, "Hey, you didn't give me a chance to suck in my stomach!" As if she even has a stomach!
Dad spent the evening in his usual fireside spot, but we didn't have a fire for him. The day was quite warm, but once the storm passed through quickly, the temps dropped dramatically. No one had brought their coats in, and it was pretty cold when they ran to their cars afterwards.

Just as my family was leaving, Anna, Drew and Ted came. So we put on another pot of coffee and had fun catching up on their lives. Anna brought these flowers ~ aren't they beautiful and cheery?
I couldn't resist taking a picture of my hubby's breakfast plate this morning. Usually Mike eats a bowl of oats and nuts. Not so today! Two slices of scrapple (a rare treat here) and a slice of both pecan and blueberry pies!

This afternoon Mike took the five youngest children to the "back forty" and let them target shoot with ole Betsy, a 22.
Doesn't Allen look happy? Allen is such a man's man ~ he loves hunting and fishing, and all the things that men love.
Lizzie looks like a pro!
Even Anna looks like she's been shooting daily.
And Ruthie got some help from Daddy. But she sure enjoyed it!
This poor shot-up pumpkin was one of three targets. Looks like they have good aim!

This evening is quiet. Sarah, Maggie and Anna went to a youth get-together for prayer and fellowship. Ruthie fell asleep at dinner. The remaining four of us are going to watch a video called "Rodeo Bloopers." I expect the girls to be home early since Sarah spent the night at Walmart, and Anna went shopping with her Daddy at 4:30 am. They said it was worth it since they got the great deals they wanted.

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

Many blessings ~ Kathie