Tomorrow I am making Pork and Mushroom Stew for dinner.  Why does this merit posting the day before or at all?  Because it is one of my son Adam's favorite meals and I have been thinking about him a lot lately.  He is currently stationed in Iraq and he is only able to call about once a month since he has been there.  When he gets back to the states he is heading right to his ship and out to sea so I won't be seeing him for awhile. 

I like soup a lot.  So much so that when it is cold out, as it is now, I tend to make a lot of soup.  Having a lot of men in the house doesn't equal a lot of soup lovers so once in awhile they used to rebel against my soup kicks.  Adam was one of the ones who rebelled the most.  Then one day he hit on a way that the two of us could live in harmony when I started to make too many soups.  He started to request his soup be put over something, rice, pasta, mashed potatoes.  Something to make it a little more filling.  Mashed potatoes are his favorites so they became the most frequent request.  We have found that this particular stew is great over potatoes so now even when he isn't around I make potatoes to go with Pork and Mushroom Stew.  This one's for you Adam.  I love you and miss you.

Pork and Mushroom Stew

1 pound pork stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tbl butter

1 small onion chopped

1 tbl garlic minced

1 10 1/2 ounce can condensed chicken broth

1/4 cup dry white wine (don't leave this out, it makes a difference in the flavor)

1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

1 large bay leaf

1 10-ounce package frozen tiny whole carrots

8-ounces fresh mushrooms sliced

3/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbl lemon juice

In a large saucpan brown pork, half at a time,, in butter.  Remove and set aside.  Saute onion and garlic until onion is transparent.  Return meat to the pan.  Add chicken broth, wine, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes.  Add the frozen carrots and mushrooms.  Return to boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes more or till vegetables are tender.  Remove bay leaf. 

Combine cold water and flour; add to stew with lemon juice.  Cook and stir till thickened anhd bubbly.  Cook and stir for 1 minute more.  Makes 4 servings.

1 ½ pounds lean ground beef

1 17ounce can whole kernel corn, drained

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup small curd cottage cheese

2 tbl. All-purpose flour

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 small onion chopped

½ tsp minced garlic

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Spray the bottom of an 8x8x2-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Spread the corn in the bottom. Combine eggs and cottage cheese; spread mixture over corn.

In a large skillet, cook and stir ground beef, onion, and garlic until the beef is brown; drain. Stir flour into browned beef; cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Add tomato sauce and stir together. Layer meat mixture on top of cottage cheese and eggs. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Place in a preheated 350 oven. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

This freezes very well!

Outside my window........it is sunny and bright and cold, about 18 degrees.  But sunny nonetheless and that is all that matters.  We have had so few of these days this winter that I treasure each one.

I am thinking.......that I am glad to be home.  Having early appointments is the pits.

From the schoolroom..........all is silent.  Matthew has been working on his assignments all day while I have been away.  He is the best!!!!!

I am thankful for........... a good report from my dr.  After two falls last week he says that my bones are like studs and that everything is in place.  The nerves are just irritated from swelling and that is where the pain is coming from.  (I think it is just my bruised dignity)

From the kitchen...........ground beef is thawing. I think I will treat my men to Cheesey Corn Casserole tonight.  One of their favorites.

I am wearing.............Jeans, and a plum colored long sleeved shirt.

I am reading............The Compleat Gentleman

I am hoping.........to finish quarterly reports this week and to get two more quilt tops done.  I just learned that another friend is expecting and due this summer.

I am creating...........works of art.

I am hearing...........the washer spinning and the dryer drying.

Around the house...........it is sparkling clean and everything is in order.  Mary-Kate didn't work this past Saturday so she cleaned my house and rearranged instead.

One of my favorite things............fabric.  I just took out several boxes to sift through.

A few plans for the rest of the week...........classes, holy hour, daily Mass, quarterly reports, and sewing, sewing, and more sewing.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you.........

The lovely roses that my husband brought for Valentines Day.  In my nice clean dining room on the table with the fresh clean linens.  This all speaks to a womans heart like nothing else can.  I love you Douglas with all my heart.

I have been making quilts for over 17 years now and I have always wanted a wall that I could use for helping me to design and plan my quilts.  This is a very large house and you would think that it would be an easy thing to designate a wall just for that purpose.  Not so!  I also have a passion for hanging all of the portraits of my kids that have ever been taken.  I don't believe in layering them in frames.  I love to look at how they have grown and changed over the years.  Consequently there are many, many pictures of my six children hung all over the house.  But yesterday Mary-Kate hung this sheet up on  a surprisingly bare wall near my husbands desk so that I can hang quilt blocks or fabric or design ideas on it.  I have found that seeing things hanging helps much more than laying things out on a table or the floor.  The floor is a bad place in this house because a quilt on the floor is a signal for Lupus to get comfortable.  She doesn't seem to know the difference between a work in progress and something that is meant just for her.  Actually she prefers something that I am working on to something that is meant for her.  Go figure!!!!!

Anyway, now I don't have to stand on a chair and stare at something that is on a table to get an idea of how it will look on a bed.  I can pin up different fabrics and leave them for days to get a feel for them together.  I can arrange blocks and rearrange blocks to my hearts delight without taking up my cutting table.  I can actually have two or three projects going at once.  My husband my just regret this little development.

Happy 200th Birthday Abraham Lincoln

What do you think of that Mary-Kate.  Imagine the things you can do when you are supposed to be resting your back.  And, yes folks, this is resting my back.  After all, I'm just going from the sewing machine, to the cutting table, to the ironing board and back again.  And they are all within about four feet of each other. 

The most strenuous thing that I have done for the past two days is get apples for myself out of the pantry and build a fire in the stove this afternoon.  Now on to the snowman blocks.  They will involve a lot of sitting time since they are mostly applique.  MK, can I use your machine since it does the best applique?  If I promise to be done before you come home this weekend?

Two quilt tops.  All I need to do now is add setting strips and borders.