Cooking 101....

Easy Breezy Porcupine Balls


1 lb. uncooked ground beef

1 cup uncooked Minute Rice

1 large can tomato juice

salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning


~Mix uncooked ground beef, uncooked rice and 1/2 cup tomato juice.

~Season with salt, pepper, and Italian Seasoning.

~Form into small balls and place in a baking dish

~Pour remainder of tomato juice on meatballs


Cover dish with foil, and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pineapple Casserole

1 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp. self-rising flour

1 cup grated cheese

1/4 cup melted margarine

1/2 cup ritz cracker crumbs

Drain pineapple, reserving 3 tablespoons of juice. Combine flour and sugar in a bowl , then stir in juice.

Fold in pineapple and cheese.

Put in a buttered dish. Combine melted butter and cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over pineapple mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Yield: Serves about 4, double for larger group.

**I used a medium sized corning ware dish, it wasn't enough for a 9x13 dish.

(Not the best pictures...i had to take them quick, because Lem was in the middle of making his plate. )

There is just something about Fall and Winter that brings out the home-body in me. More so than usual anyway. I get full swing in the cooking mode, and love baking during the holidays. My kitchen gets the most use for the next 3 months than it will see the whole year!

My goal this winter is to become a better cook, and to learn some new recipes. I have already started on my quest, and it has been quite fun. Lem has certainly enjoyed coming home to a warm meal on the table these last few weeks. Unlike the Summer time when he is lucky to have milk for his cereal.

To help me obtain this lofty goal of "becoming a better cook", I have challenged myself to try one new recipe a week. This being week one. My recipe tonight was White Bean Chicken Chili. Big hit with the husband, and the son...not so much with the daughter. I will post this recipe tomorrow, I want to post a picture with it...and the picture is still in my camera. Too lazy to download it tonight.

However, I will post an old staple of a recipe around the Hill homestead. We had it last night for dinner. Porcupine Balls. Sounds appetizing, right?? Well, it is! Try them and let me know what you think. My kids (both of them!) even enjoyed them. Joseph says during dinner, "Mommy, you should really think about trying out for "So, you think you can cook!". Ahhhh, melt my heart.

Poor thing, his taste buds are highly distorted from the likes of my cooking. I still appreciated the compliment and his sweet sincerity, though. My little charmer.

I am thinking that Wednesdays will be my recipe post days here on the old blog. So, tune in on those days...and let's get cookin'! Most importantly share, share, share your recipes. Give a girl a hand on this cooking challenge.

dusting off my apron,

Jill

Camping 101....

..our first night at the campsite..all smiles!
Our lovely tents..ours is the blue one in the background.
Riley and Presley...cutie pies!
Joseph and Reagan...best buds.
a little lounging in the sun with my sweetie...
the bed that I never slept in...:(
the camping Hills!
look at them...just little lovebirds...Tracey and Darren
NO, this will not be our Christmas card picture..just in case you were worried...maybe Halloween next year...bad hair, all the way around...yikes!
the Hill's and the Greene's having some fun at the park near our campsite
getting a little goofy, and mostly tired of all of the picture taking
Joseph takes a break on the bench, and I snag a little cuddle time in.


Two weekends ago we ventured out into the deep woods for our first camping trip. We traveled all the way to Alexander City, Alabama. Brave, aren't we? The reason for the far travel is because we met up with some of our best friends, Darren and Tracey Greene and their girls, Riley and Reagan. The Greene's live about 30 minutes from the campsite that we visited.

Our car was loaded down with everything but the kitchen sink....on second thought, pretty sure we brought that too. Being our first "camping" trip, I had to make sure that we didn't ''want" for anything. You would have thought that we were headed west for a year with the sight of our loaded down vehicle.

Darren and Tracey were already there when we arrived. As soon as we landed, Lem started unpacking the car, and hurriedly setting up the tent. Apparently daylight runs very short the further West you head from Georgia. At 4:30 it was getting dark....WOW!

Once everything was settled and unpacked, we made some delicious hot dogs for dinner. Well, let me rephrase...Darren made us some delicious hot dogs for dinner. The kids were happy and fed, and we had fun catching up with the Greene's.

Tracey recently had knee surgery, so she decided that two nights in a tent, on the ground, would be too much for her knee. She had decided early on to go home Friday night and come back early Saturday morning. Like I needed an excuse to get to sleep in a bed?? I whole heartedly and without an ounce of hesitation, offered to escort her home and stay with her. She couldn't go home to an empty home...alone. No way! I was the loyal friend who stayed with her and sacrificed a night in the woods to be with her. (Lucky me!!)

We made it back to the campsite early the next morning and spent the rest of the day lounging, talking, playing, and just having a good time. The weather was absolutely picture perfect. We took advantage of our ample time and took about a million pictures. Posed, action, you name it. What better than to capture our camping memories with some pictures! The husbands were not as delighted. Tracey and I wrangled them into some really cheesy poses, all the while they were reluctantly obliging.

As night fell...somewhere around 4:30-ish...we cooked dinner and made s'mores for dessert. Well most everyone did...I just ate big, fat, burnt marshmallows and relished every bite. After dinner, I was feeling really crampy. My little friend had showed up on our way down the day before, and she was back with a vengeance. I kept imagining myself getting up to go to the bathroom during the night, not being able to see very well, and trying to keep everything in tact...if you know what I mean. SURE, you do..you are GIRLS. 99.9% of you reading this can follow.

Sheepishly, I turned to Tracey and asked her if she minded if we went back to her house for the night. There was no need for arm twisting, she didn't bat one pretty eyelash. She was ready!

We got to her house and decided to get on FB together. Oh my gosh, we laughed so hard. We found some funny stuff. We laughed our butts off. Silly, silly, silly girls. It was like a slumber party, but just the two of us. I love Tracey Greene. No matter how much time has passed, it's like we are right back in sync.

To sum it all up, we had ample fun, and an abundant of laughs that weekend. Although I didn't get a chance to break in the tent...I was okay with that.

Our next camping trip is scheduled for this weekend. I am sure I won't be able to find an excuse good enough for not sleeping in the tent. So, say a prayer for me. Please.

still smelling the campfire,

Jill

Halloween Memories...

2005...My little blue-eyed Bunny...10 months old..


MawMaw/The Wicked Witch with the sweet little bunny

2005...Pumpkin Babies....
Perhaps, my favorite...
Okay, now I am getting teary-eyed..where does the time go??
Halloween at The Hill's...2005 (our house in Olde Town Conyers) Jenny, Mary, Danielle, Me and baby Tyler!
2005..Joseph the Power Ranger and Presley the pink bunny (me Momma Bunny)
Presley and Daddy 2005
2005...Lem (blue eyes) an his baby girl, Presley Jane
2005...Pumpkin Patch!!
Graham! 2006
My Princess Presley..2006
Batman a/k/a Joseph 2006
LOVE my babies!
2006...Joseph patting his little sister's belly...my heart melts
2007...The Hill's pose for their Halloween portrait...BOOO!
Presley, Cali Rose, and Anna-Joy the prettiest Halloween girlies!
The whole gang...pretty scary bunch!
Lem, you take by breath away...literally!
Don't eat that apple, Snow White! (Presley & Me)
2008..Trick or Treating in Olde Town Conyers...
My beautiful bumble bee niece, Ashley
Joseph, Presley, and my nephew Graham pose for the camera
Super Girl and Indian Jones walking off into the sunset...
Joseph giving his best Indiana Jones/Elvis pose...Presley smiling




So, you all know that I love Halloween! I had to post some of my favorite memories..Enjoy!!


Boo!

Happy Halloweening,

Jill

Sprinkles of fun....

Joseph getting ready to roll out some dough!

taking it seriously...

smiles and cookies...the best kind of fun!

helping Joseph with the cookie cutter...

even Dad joined in on the fun!

rolling it up!

time for the oven!

TAH DAH!!! The cookies are ready!!

a little creativity with the cookies..the kids initials :)

2009 P for Presley and J for Joseph!

We had so much fun baking Halloween cookies. This was our first year baking Halloween cookies together. I usually do it alone, to surprise the kids when they get home from school. However, I thought it was time to let them help. They were so excited.

After church on Sunday, we told them to go to their rooms and wait until we called them out to the kitchen. Lem and I put out all of the ingredients on the table and set the scene. Once finished, we called the kids in the kitchen, and all that was heard was "Woohooooo!!". You would have thought they won the lottery! I love when they are thrilled over the little things.

Much fun was had, and many sprinkles sprinkled. The cookies are long gone, but the memories remain.

still sweeping sprinkles,



Jill

Seasons Change....

God really does have a sense of humor. I have heard it said at least a million times, but now, I KNOW it's true. A while back I blogged about both of my children being in school full time, and how I felt this longing to do "something" outside of the home. Now, don't get me wrong, I would be a homemaker until kingdom come, if that's what I could do. However, with finances being a little shaky, I felt the need to contribute financially in some way.

I explained in that blog that I had always wanted to be involved in hair and makeup or any thing of that nature. School is out of the question, because of the cost that it would entail. So, I prayed, and I waited, and I waited. Just as I was in the process of filling out forms to be a substitute at the children's schools, something fell into my lap.

My hairdresser for many, many years called my sister about starting a business with her. She thought it would be a great idea to offer hair and makeup services for brides. The catch being, that we would come to them. Brilliant!! Angela passed the idea along to me, and of course, I was thrilled at the prospect! Hair, make-up, and weddings??? A dream job!

After several belly laughs, and silly name ideas later, we came up with the name Three Blondes & a Wand. Fitting, considering we are all bleached blondes. My very good friend Courtney came up with the cutest logo for our cards, and we were set!

One day after deciding this would be a fun adventure, we got our first booking for a wedding. What?? Wow!! Talk about gettin' the ball rolling!

This past Sunday was our first wedding, consisting of a bride and 4 brides maids. We had so much fun. As Angela perfected their make-up, Joyce was working her magic on their hair. Me, being the "assistant", ran my legs off running errands for the bride and her maid of honor. We all worked so well together. It was like we had been doing this for years.

God is so good. He never fails to give me the desires of my heart. The desires that He places within my heart. To top it all off, I am now working 2 days a week at my Dad's heating and air conditioning business. I needed some extra money, and he needed some help...perfect. I love helping out his business. It feels like home to me. Not to mention, the cherry on top is that I get to see my Mom and Dad more often and I am loving every minute of it.

There I was two months ago, in my mode of lamenting about what God had in store for me. Daily, I was asking "am i good at anything...is there anything out there for me??" Then out of the clear blue sky, the Lord all but threw 2 jobs in my lap. I love YOU. I bet you must have been smiling Your big, knowing smile all the while I was feeling lonesome and sorry for myself.

I asked and I received. More than I bargained for at that. Thank you, Lord. You never cease to amaze me with your love for me. Your timing is impeccable, as always.

grateful for this new season,

Jill