I made up a new recipe last night

Chris wanted Red Beans and Rice for dinner with Polish Sausage. I usually use Zatarain’s mix

because it’s easy and SO good. Didn’t have a box in the cabinet, but I did have home canned red beans and all the other ingredients on hand to try my hand at home made. OMG mine is 100 times better. At least *I* thought so, could have been that I was starving by 7:45 when it was finally ready! lol

Anyway, here’s what I did:

Tricia’s Polish Sausage, Red beans and Rice

1 lb Polish Kielbasa sausage – sliced into 1 inch rounds
1 large onion finely chopped
garlic cloves finely chopped – do this to taste – I use a couple of dollops of pre-chopped garlic
1 or 2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika – get it at Walmart – this is what makes this dish!!
2 or 3 Tbsp Creole Seasoning –
2 small cans Red Beans – I used 2 pint jars that I canned last summer
Water
1 – 2 Cups Brown Minute rice – could use white, but I prefer the texture of brown

Saute onion and garlic in about 1 Tbsp of oil over Medium heat – I used Safflower – but canola/corn/etc would be ok. When translucent, add spices. Stir for a minute or so and add sausage. Keep stirring until sausage begins to slightly brown. May need to add a bit more oil, depending on how much fat your sausage releases.
Add Beans and stir. Add about 3-4 cups of water – depending on how much rice you use. Pour in Rice and stir. Add more water if needed. Cover and let slow simmer until rice is done, checking and stirring every so often and adding water if it looks too dry. We like ours a little ‘saucy’ to pour over cornbread.
I like a little Tabasco sprinkled over mine just before digging in.

Enjoy!

Please excuse my lack of exact measurements. I NEVER measure anything when I’m cooking (except when following a recipe for the first time). I cook by taste, a spoonful now and then and adjust seasoning accordingly. That’s just the way Mama taught me to cook.

And sorry no photos, I didn’t think of taking any. I’ll shoot some next time. Just make some this weekend and see in person how yummy this is!

Smoked Paprika is my new favorite spice!

Went Bald Eagle watching today

Chris and I got up before dawn and fed Buck and the goats. Loaded up the cameras and took off to Town Creek to meet the Bald Eagle watching group. It was colder than a…….. I’ll let you fill in the blank. Others in the group spotted two juvenile eagles flying over when I went to the truck to look for something warm to put on (no luck). The sun still hadn’t come up over the ridge of the mountain though, so even though it would have been GREAT to actually see them, photographing them wouldn’t have worked out too well.

From there, the group went up to the Lodge in the state park. The Lodge has just recently been completely remodeled, and this was our first visit since. It is stunningly beautiful. Whomever designed and decided on the furnishings did an absolutely wonderful job. We had the breakfast buffet which was both delicious and reasonably priced. Enjoyed fabulous company (made 2 new friends) and learned that it’s not a good idea for a 300 lb man to go rafting. LOL
No photos there, sorry – I was too busy stuffing my face!

We left there and went up to the north side of the dam to see a nest. We were not disappointed at this site, as the mated pair have built their nest within sight of the main road, and have baby chicks that have recently hatched. One of the watchers had a spotting scope set up and looking through it was almost like being in the tree with them. He told us that he had an attachment at home to put a camera on!!! Guess what just went on MY shopping list??? lol
We watched Debi’s dog Deacon and Kathy’s dog Ozzie play and I shot some photos of them while we were waiting for the male eagle to return to the nest. If you have never seen an eagle in flight – Oh my it is a majestic sight. Just breathtaking! You want to see some photos? lol Well, they’re not all that great, I was struggling with sticks and stuff between my line of sight and the birds, but here are a few of them…

Meanwhile, since it was so difficult to get a good shot, I wandered around checking everything out. Caught a MAJOR case of lens envy!!!

And started shooting the crowd and the dogs….

Then Daddy Eagle decided to come sit with Mom. A nice lady from New York who I had been talking to earlier came and told me that there was a better viewing spot that she would share with me.

From there, we went to High Falls and spent some time hiking and just relaxing. It was wonderful!

I just wanted to show you what a trail I had to haul my fat ass up to bring you these photos. Do you see a trail there? Well neither do I!!!! If Chris hadn’t been there with me, I might have made it out by dark alone! LOL He and I were the only two brave (read stupid!) enough to risk our necks and go down there to get the shots from below the falls. It was beautiful though!

After we got home, I was pleased to find that Buck had cleaned his feed trough and wanted more. I hooked up the horse trailer and got it ready to go tomorrow, cleaned up my tack shed that looked like a tornado went through it, and even oiled and powdered my western saddle! Whew! I am exhausted!!!

Right now as I am typing this, True Grit (John Wayne!) just went off and we’re watching Jeremiah Jones. Had a nanner sammich for dinner and sitting here with my feet propped up. I do believe that all I needed for this last month has been WARM days and SUNSHINE!!!! Life is SO good right now.

Hope your life is equally great! Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to leave a comment so I know *somebody* is interested in what I have to say.

My Wish List – aka Bucket List

This post will be a work in progress, as I’m sure my wishes will change over time and there’s no way I can think of every thing I want to do in my life in one sitting. But here goes….

1. I want to ride my horse in every state. I’ve managed Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia so far. That only leaves 47 more! lol I realize this probably won’t ever happen, but this is a wish list!

2. I want to travel to Italy and Spain.

3. I want to scuba dive.

4. I want to sky dive or hang glide – I don’t care which – just want the feeling of flight.

5. I want to be completely out of debt. Getting close on this one!

6. I want to see my son graduate college.

7. Read all the classics.

8. See the Grand Canyon.

9. See Niagara Falls.

10. Learn to drive a horse and wagon.

11. Write a book

12. Swim with dolphins

13. Visit the Smokey Mountains

14. Take some college courses

15. Learn Spanish

16. Get to ideal weight

17. Run a marathon

18. Learn to play Piano

19. Learn to dance

20. Bury the hatchet with those who I have grudges/grievances with

21. Go on a cruise

22. Make a difference in someone’s life

23. Take photography classes

24. Take art classes and make a painting.

25. Send a message in a bottle.

26. Gain a deeper understanding of God and my own spirituality.

27. Attend a Kentucky Derby

28. Attend a National Finals Rodeo

29. Visit Australia – for as long as it takes to see the country

30. Go on safari in Africa

31. Go on a real cattle drive – preferrably in Australia

A couple of recommendations….

I’m not a big TV fan.  Most American shows these days are recycled plots or reality shows.  I do subscribe to Netflix though and have found a show that I absolutely LOVE and have become addicted to.  It is called McLeod’s Daughters.  This is not a show written by someone who knows nothing about farm life.  Usually when I watch a show that is set on a farm, I find myself ridiculing the writing because it is either over the top or just plain out stupid.  Not the case here!

http://www.mcleodsdroversrun.com/

Copied and Pasted from Wiki:  McLeod’s Daughters was a Logie award-winning Australian drama series that aired on the Nine Network from 2001 to 2009. It tells the story of two sisters, Claire and Tess McLeod, who are reunited after when they inherit a vast outback cattle station. Thrown together after 20 years apart they pull together an all-female workforce and commit to life at Drovers Run in South Australia, 180 km from the nearest town and 400 km from the city.

The first series is on instant play on Netflix – check it out!  I’m on the 3rd season of the DVD’s right now.  It almost feels like I know these characters – they are so real!  There are very few shows on TV anymore that can make you feel true emotion.

The other recommendation is to check out Rebecca Lavelle the Aussie singer.  She sings all the music on this show and I love her voice.  I think my favorite of her songs is ‘My Heart is Like a River”.  You can hear it on the link below.

http://www.mcleodsdroversrun.com/RebeccaLavelle.html