Petunia Bloom

Apple Salad October 2, 2008

While in Branson, MO, this weekend we went to Silver Dollar City.  We had so much fun.  If you haven’t been to Silver Dollar City in a while, you need to go back soon.  They just opened up a Culinary Craft School.  It is amazing but you have to pay $10 extra to book a spot.  It is basically a cooking show where everyone gets to taste the final product.  Despite the fact that I only went home with two new recipes, I will definitely take another class at the Culinary Craft School.  It was fun to sit in a brand new gourmet kitchen and watch food be made.

One of the recipes that was demonstrated while we were there was this Apple Salad.  I have made it TWICE since getting back.

Ingredients:
7-8 apples (I used Gala)
1 can crushed pineapple
1/3 bag small marshmallows
Nuts (I like Walnuts)
*optional* cut up orange slices
1 cup fat free half and half, give or take
small container of light cool whip

Directions:
Drain can of pineapple into large bowl and fill the bowl up half way with water.
Cut up all the apples in to small pieces and place in bowl with pineapple juice.
In another large bowl, whip up cool whip, crushed pineapple, and half and half.
Stir in nuts and orange slices.
Add apple pieces, stir, and store in fridge for up to a week.

Notes:
The orange slices make this salad really sweet.  I would prefer the salad without them, but my husband likes them added.  The teacher at the culinary craft school said that she adds different types of candy depending on the holiday.  Orange slices are good for Halloween, etc…

Austria Pictures October 1, 2008

I love looking through my pictures of the places I have been.  Looking at old trip photos is like taking a trip through memory lane.  I love it.  Here is a church in Tulfus, Austria that was right behind our hotel.  The fog is beautiful but it is covering up the Austrian Alps.  Tulfus is much like Oberammergau with flowers in every windowsill, firewood stacked everywhere, and country charm.  Our hotel, Gasthof Neuwirt, was so beautiful.  It was complete with murals and flowers gracing the windows on the outside and Bavarian hospitality on the inside.  There was a picturesque church next to the hotel complete with a bell tower.  It was so romantic.  There were two dairy farms situated on either side of the hotel.  We got to tour one of these two dairy operations.  It was so interesting.  Tulfus is about 15mins from Innsbruck.

Here is another picture from Austria.  This is Salzburg, Austria.   The amazing part….do you see it?  No tourists in my picture…  We went in October and it was a good time to go if you don’t want to fight with a whole lot of tourist traffic.  In the top right of the picture is the castle of Salzburg, Hohensalzburg Fortress.  My mom and I didn’t tour it.  I think we missed out to shop.  How sad is that?  We both ended up getting scarves.  Now I wish I would have toured it with the group.

More Pictures from the Farm July 20, 2008

I finally got my camera back.  Here are some of the pictures I took while on the farm.

Here is Brian, Ryan, me, and my Mimi and Pappy.

You can’t beat this.  This is what I grew up on.  I made hamburgers this week for my mom and it tasted so bad to her that she threw it in the garbage disposal when she thought I wasn’t looking…  My parents cook their meat on a Traeger grill.  They are amazing.  Add some home grown beef to it and you are sure to want more.

Ryan and Brian helping to band some bulls.

Okay – That is gross.  I think I am going to call your bluff.

Up close and personal now….

Brian is having second thoughts about trying them.  Is he all talk?

And he decided to just try one or two…

Sophie is very concerned….okay, no she just wants to play ball…

Favorite Video Podcast March 27, 2008

My husband received an Apple TV for Christmas.  Recently, Ryan showed me that I could watch video podcasts on it if there was nothing on television.  First of all, I like all of Rick Steves’ products.  His travel guides are so good I like to read them for fun.  His website is amazing and offers some great resources if you are planning to travel overseas.  So…now I found his video podcast.  They are very short, but packed with information.  Many times, after traveling, I forget important names, dates, and details about places I have been or want to go.  This is a great way to refresh one’s memory or learn about new places.  If you have an Apple TV, simply search under podcasts for Rick Steves.  If you have I-Tunes, click here for directions on how to subscribe to Rick Steves’ video clips.