North Georgia Candy Roaster Pie

Every year I try to grow something unusual.  But since I don't have BOTH my gardening legs in use, I decided to grow an oldie but goodie ~ the North Georgia Candy Roaster squash.

This is a winter squash which means that you actually grow it in the summer and it keeps through the year to eat in the winter.  If you imagine that a pumpkin and a sweet potato had a baby, that's what it tastes like.  They are huge, great for months of storage, and delicious!

To make this pie, you'll start by cutting the squash open and scooping out the seeds.  Place the cut ends on a roasting pan with a lip (these things tend to be a bit "juicy").  Cook at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes depending on the size.  

The squash should be fork tender.

Scoop out the flesh with a spoon and mash with a fork.  Like I said, these tend to hold some water so I choose to drain the squash, but you certainly don't have to.  You'll need 2 cups of squash for the pie recipe, any extra can be frozen in two cup portions.  From these two squash, I got six cups of flesh!

NORTH GEORGIA CANDY ROASTER PIE

2 C. Candy Roaster squash puree

1/2 C. Sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbs. flour

1/2 C. Evaporated milk

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 Tbs. melted butter

2 tsp. Cinnamon

Your favorite pie crust

Combine all ingredients (except the crust, duh) into a large bowl and beat at medium speed with mixer until smooth.  Pour mixture into unbaked pie crust and bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Now if you can't get your hands on a Candy Roaster, no problem!  You can use ANY sweet-ish squash like pumpkin or acorn, 

or you can use sweet potato or yam. 

Candy Roasters are super easy to grow,

and even easier to eat!

 

Now will somebody please pass me the whipped cream?

Five Things

I’m in a cast and can’t do much right now, but life isn’t all bad. 

Here are five things that I’m loving right now. 

1.  Day trips to the beach.

We live about 40 minutes from Matagorda beach so it’s super easy to pack a bag and take off for the day. There is no better therapy than to sit with your toes in the sand, close your eyes, and listen to the waves crashing.  It restores my soul. 

2.  DouglasCreamerPhotography.com

My husband is resurrecting his photography business.  

It allows him to be creative, make extra money for our family, and we’ve met so many wonderful people through this venture. 

If you’re in need of a photographer, give him a call,

3.  Lunch dates with my husband.

At least once a week we have to leave our small town and travel to Houston for doctor appointments, shopping, or any host of errands.  We’ve decided to turn those days into dates, no kids allowed!  

Now while my dream date doesn’t include walking the aisles of Costco or Tractor Supply, we can at least do it hand in hand.  We have lunch, talk, or just be quiet and enjoy each other’s company.

4.  Tea

If you follow me on Facebook or IG, you know I’m a sucker for iced tea (Buc-ee’s iced tea in particular!). But I’m branching out, y’all!  

I am currently LOVING fresh teas from my garden and exotic dried teas.  Whatever mood I’m in, I have a tea that suits me!

5.  The Fall garden.

My summer vegetable garden is spent so now it’s time to get ready for fall planting. Seed starting begins in August for October planting. I should be out of this cast and walking well by then and I’m so ready to get my hands back in the dirt.  I’ve ordered sturdy new seed starting trays (from Bootstrap Farmer) and lots of new varieties of seeds. I’m really loving sketching out my garden plans for the fall, so many possibilities!

In this crazy time that we are living in, 

it’s important to find things that make you happy. 

Be it food and drink, people, things or places...

what are you loving right now?

At One Month Post Op...

I am exactly four weeks post op from having a Triple Arthrodesis Revision.  And according to my surgeon, it was a crazy difficult surgery to perform with lots of manipulation to my foot and bones.  This same time with my last surgery I was still in bed praying for death!  

But this time....

We are hitting the beach!

Doing double header baseball games!

Heading to church for this girl's 

First Holy Communion!

And I'm in the kitchen processing the garden peppers and tomatoes into gallons 

(literally gallons!) of salsa!

I have little to no pain at all, and simply can't remember the last time I had to take any medication for pain.  I have another six weeks, at least, in this cast but I cannot wait to get it off and get walking again.

And when I do...y'all better watch out!

Ice Cream

Who doesn’t love ice cream?  

It’s just one of those summer time staples, like eating watermelon on the back porch and spitting the seeds into the grass.  Traditionally, making ice cream involves churning, buckets of ice and salt, and lots of time.  But I’ve discovered a way to make some pretty rich and decadent ice cream with just a few ingredients and a little time. 

I wish I could take credit for the recipe, but I found it on a wonderful YouTube channel called Mary’s Nest. 

Here’s her simple process:

Beat two cups of heavy cream into stiff peaks using a stand or hand held mixer, then add one can of sweetened condensed milk and mix until just blended. 

That’s it!  That is the basic recipe. 

You can freeze this mixture as a sweet cream ice cream or add in other flavors.  We added one cup of cocoa powder for a rich chocolate, spooned it into a freezer safe container, and freeze for four hours. 

So many possibilities 

So much deliciousness!

ENJOY!

A Very Good Day

This past Sunday was a two-for-one bundle of goodness!

Our Sunday Mass was celebrated with the Confirmation of our number three son, John Paul.

His classes were cut short due to Covid-19, but this month they rallied so that the young men and women in the parish could receive the Sacrament. Kyle, brother number two, was his sponsor. 

We are so happy for John Paul and trust that God will continue to do great things in his life and bless him abundantly. 

Sunday was also Father’s Day. 

All the kids came home, Kyle made a delicious dinner for the family of chicken fried streak and potatoes with gravy. Daniel made Doug’s favorite, chocolate pie, and a banana pudding. 

We have been blessed with beautiful children, a happy home, strong faith, and love for each other.  Today was a very good day to celebrate it all!

Healing

I had my correctional surgery on June 2nd. 

It went smoothly and I spent just one night in the hospital for pain control. 

Since then, my pain has been minimal and all I need now (at just two weeks post op) is an occasional Motrin.  

And now I spend my days watching Netflix like it’s my full time job. 

So far, recovery has been pretty easy. I keep thinking that THIS is how it should have been the first time I had this surgery. I am still so angry that a year of my life was wasted.

I read a quote a few weeks ago that said, You should never ask, “Why is this happening to me?”  You should ask yourself instead, “What is God trying to teach me?”  

God has a reason for allowing bad things to happen. We may never understand His wisdom, but we simply have to trust His will. 

I guess true healing doesn’t mean that the damage never existed. It just means the damage no longer controls our lives. 

I have a lot of healing to do. 

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Vampire Proofing the House

I have a confession to make. 

I don’t trust my kids...at least in my garden. 

I’m supposed to have surgery in four days and the garden is in full swing. Harvesting ripened tomatoes and peppers is pretty easy, right?  

Just wait for the pretty color changes and pick them. My kids understand this concept. 

But underground crops are a whole other learning curve. 

Garlic is ready in our area some time in July and I really don’t think I’ll be in any state of mind to care what the garlic is doing by then. So to prevent them from rotting in the ground, I pulled up all of my garlic and planted melons in the bed they occupied. 

I debated on drying it for garlic powder or pickling it for burgers. In the end, I decided on something purely decorative. I wanted to make a garlic braid for my kitchen.  

The garlic that was harvested is a hard neck variety but you are only supposed to braid the soft neck varieties (simply because it’s easier). 

I found this awesome YouTube video on braiding hard neck garlic and set to work. 

In about 15 minutes I had finished the "braid"

 and even decorated it with flowers from the garden.  

Now I have a sweet little reminder of the garden 

while I’m not able to work outside for a while. 

Plus, Mary Grace is super excited now that our house is "Vampire Proof!"

I Have Become The Crazy Tomato Lady!

Just call me, "The Crazy Tomato Lady."

I guess I could have worse names.

I am currently obsessed with the hierloom tomatoes growing in the garden right now. 

 If truth be told, I take care of them better than I take care of my children...

I check on them multiple times a day.

Feed and water them religiously.

I play Spotify for them while I'm weeding.  

They LOVE 'Panic at the Disco.'

I lay awake at night worrying if they're being attacked by horn worms.

And I have more pictures of my prized heirloom tomatoes 

than I have of my children on my Instagram account.

So tell me, what would YOU rather look at?

Glorious vine ripened tomatoes lovingly grown from heirloom seed...

Or this motley crew?

It's a tough call.

If It Weren’t For Bad Luck, I’d Have No Luck At All!

So last time I was in this space I was getting ready (for the THIRD time) to have revision surgery on my foot. Well, two days before my surgery I decided to spend the day in the gardens getting them ready for weeks of neglect.

 It turned out to be a really nice day, until....

I dropped a very heavy metal sprinkler on my foot. 

The same foot I was supposed to have surgery on. 

And that damn sprinkler cut my foot on my old scar line. 

Long story short, my physician CANCELLED my surgery. 

I was gutted. 

There was crying.

I may have invented whole new cuss words. 

That all happened a little over a week ago, and now that my physician is sure there is no infection present and my wound is healing well, we have rescheduled the surgery for June 2nd. 

I’m not holding my breath.

There’s no telling what plague will befall me between now and then.

Apocalypse, maybe?

Waste Not...

The weather is getting warmer and the garden is starting to crank out its goodness.  Daily we are harvesting food, and I have to admit, it's never tasted better!  So thankful to be able to grow food in times such as these.  For so many years, we've just had too much to handle in the garden.  We give much of it away, but we also end up throwing a lot of it in the compost bin because I simply didn't make the time to preserve it.  

This year is different,

 I will not be wasteful with this abundant blessing.

I'm about to have a LOT of time on my hands.

And I have a lot of kids to tend my garden while I'm out of commission.

So I think this season is the perfect time to teach my family (and learn a lesson myself!) on not being wasteful and preserving our harvests to enjoy all year long.

 

Time Marches On...

Well, April has come and gone and I STILL 

didn't get the surgery done to correct my foot.  

The hospital called FOUR DAYS before my scheduled date 

(and AFTER I had just paid them a couple thousand dollars!) 

to cancel yet again!  

They said they were working on 
"processes to keep staff and patients safe." 
 I really shouldn't be mad at that but...

UGHHHHH!

Now I'm scheduled for May 21st, 

but I'm not holding my breath!

We'll see if it happens.

Stay tuned...

On the other hand, the cancellation has given me more time to garden and that's always a win-win!

One Week from Today...

One week from today I'm having my triple arthrodesis revision surgery.  I can't believe I'm actually typing that sentence!  My surgery was supposed to happen April 2nd, but got postponed due to the cancellation of elective surgeries due to COVID-19.  I have to admit that I was completely gutted then.  I had been waiting well over a year and it was so close to happening when all of this occurred. But now, with elective surgeries beginning again by the 22nd, there is little chance I'll be cancelled again. 

Am I ready?  

No.

I know exactly what is ahead for me. 

 The recovery is so painful.

Literally, every bone in my foot will be broken 

and reset with screws and pins.

Right now, I'm planning on sleeping the first month away 

in a narcotic induced haze.

Seriously, I'm not kidding.

I know it will get better, and at this point ANYTHING 

is better than what I'm living with now.  

I'm really focusing on be able to walk again normally, 

tending to my household and garden, 

and eventually going back to work full force and with less pain.

Please pray for me and my family,

it's going to be a rough four months!

The New Normal

Our "new normal" is:

Sleeping in on my days off from work.

Having coffee in the garden while being stalked 

by coffee loving dogs.

Watching the hummingbirds fight over the flowers and feeders.

Having the kids trickle outside one by one in the morning.

Long, uninterrupted talks. 

At home haircuts and family meals around the table...

EVERY night.

Pitching practice and games of catch with big brothers.

Picking wild flowers by the side of the road,

because we have no where else to be.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy our "new normal" right now.  When my kids look back on this historical event, I want them to remember that it really wasn't that bad.  That good things did indeed come out of all of this.

I don't want them to remember an anxious mom who constantly worries that SHE is the biggest threat to her family right now.

So PLEASE stay home.

PLEASE be diligent about social distancing.

Wash you hands.

Don't hoard supplies.

And support your medical community with your prayers while you have the wonderful opportunity to be at home safe with your family.

May God bless us all and see us through to the other side of this.