The Dackel Princess

Making Your Own Taco Salad!

I wanted to make my own taco salad cups so I searched and searched found a recipe and as usual, modified it! In the end we had a win, win, and I will definitely make this again.

INGREDIENTS:
6 burrito-size flour tortillas
Olive oil or Canola oil
6 oven-safe cups or canning jars

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet, place the cups or jars upside down, evenly spacing them to make room for the tortillas that will be draped over them.

Microwave the tortillas for about 30 seconds, until they are soft and pliable. Rub a teaspoon or so of oil on the front and back of the tortilla. I used my fingers so that I could make sure to coat the entire surface of the tortilla. It doesn’t need to be a heavy coating of oil, just enough to help the tortilla crisp up and not stick to the jar or cup. Drape each tortilla over a cup or jar (I found that the tall jelly/jam jars I had sitting in my cupboard worked great). I softly pressed the sides down a bit to help them form more of a bowl shape. Then used butchers twine to tie them securely.

Bake the tortilla bowls for about 8-10 minutes, checking often so they don’t burn, until the tortillas are nicely browned and crisp. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the tortillas cool for a few minutes before gently removing them from the cups or jars.

FILL: with lettuce, tomatoes, Mexican spiced meat or chicken, salsa, sour cream, black olives, shredded cheese, and guacamole. Or anything else you might like. They were yummy!

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The entire thing took me about 20 minutes to do.

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins are sponsored by my cousin Janet. Come on and join the fun!

And…here we go!

1. These three words describe my significant other (or dog, cat, baby, grandchild, best friend!): thoughtful, hardworking, dedicated!
2. My daughter is a delight!
3. Oh, how I adore my family, doggies and friends.
4. It’s amazing how much fun waiting for something can be if one takes time to be friendly.
5. Inevitably, I will grow my hair out, and once again be able to tuck it back into a pony tail when I am working.
6. My girls (Mel, Mandy, Janet, Uschi and Gail) are people who never cease to encourage me.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to soaking in my bathtub, tomorrow my plans include going to a craft fair with my cousin Janet and Sunday, I want to finish all my laundry and prepare for the week ahead!

Thursday Thirteen

The Legal List

After two long days sitting, waiting in the Court House, for the trial I was supposed to hear, the Prosecution and Defense plead the charges out, so I never got to hear one piece of testimony or render a decision.

At the end of the day today the Judge came in and thanked us for our service. I mean, we were there, and would have done our job if we had been needed. Then he spoke to us for a bit and answered all our questions, or at least the ones that he could.

If you get a Jury Summons…go. You can be held in contempt and put in jail if you blow it off.
Not everyone who gets a summons actually serves on a Jury.
You can even be sitting in the Jury Box during the selection process and have a Lawyer throw you off during Voir dire.
There is a lot of sitting around when you are on Jury Duty.
If you are lucky, the people on the panel with you will get along with you and the others.
I have to say, the Court House Staff, Deputies and Sheriffs were all so nice. They did the best that they could to keep us happy and informed. One Deputy joked that he was our Deputy and would take a bullet for us! lol!
I’d intended to catch up on my reading, but these were really good people on the Jury Panel, and in the end, we shared stories about our lives, New Hampshire and told jokes and funny stories.
The weather was pouring rain one minute (during the drive) and then bright, sunny, and hot the next.
The holding area for us was in a room where the air conditioner was broken!
I kept drinking cold water…
You guessed it. I had to keep asking to go to the ladies room. How embarrassing.
One more trial next week, then I hope I am done. I could still be called on June 4th for another Jury or two.
Then after this, I am free for three years! Yay!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What’s something you miss about the 1980’s? If you’re too young to miss the 80’s how about the 90’s?

I miss my kids being little. That was such a great time. And I miss cheap gasoline!

2. Do you have a library card? If so, how often do you visit?

Yes and weekly. In fact, I am a Library Trustee!

3. What’s the secret to success?

Believing in God, yourself and your family. Also, never give up!

4. This is National Backyard Games week…what’s your favorite backyard game?

Throw the ball for the dogs!

5. If I dropped by today what would I find on your coffee table?

Just a few magazines. Recycling day was yesterday, so my table is quite neat!

6. Do you own a bicycle? When was the last time you rode a bicycle? Is that something you enjoy?

I do own a bike, but since we moved back to hilly New Hampshire I don’t ride. In Florida, I rose almost everyday, with Shubi in my basket.

7. What’s your favorite cheese?

It’s a tie. A good Tilsiter, or Vermont Cheddar!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The Baby Shower sure was fun! It was so nice to see my daughter so happy, and I couldn’t believe how generous everyone was!

My Garden

The garden is coming along. I have 12 plants in patio pots with tomatoes, eggplants, and green peppers outside on the patio. Our temperatures have been nice enough so we have just been able to leave them outside. I think last week we only had two nights where we dragged the pots into the green house to protect the plants.

Meanwhile the little seedlings are growing by leaps and bounds! I think the best ones are the zucchini and the squashes. The cukes have really struggled, but are starting to look better.

Where we are in the growing charts, it really isn’t safe to plant until after Memorial Day (the end of May). Then we rake up the garden and plant little hills of all the vegetables.

We do have one big disappointment this year. No Cherries! In years past, we have so many that our fingers turn maroon from seeding and eating them. It was this totally wacky spring we have had!

So, sadness all around…no cherries to eat or make my favorite Cherry Jelly!

It does look like we have a fair apple crop, peach and plum crop and possibly a small pear crop. I will be grateful for each piece of fruit grown here.

My snowball bushes should be in full bloom this weekend! They have a nice crop of blossoms this year. That brings back wonderful memories of my childhood.

What I Did This Past Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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On Saturday, after weeks of preparation, Mandy’s sister, Ally, Ally’s mother, Di, and Matt’s Mom and I gave Mandy a shower for the baby.

I know that many countries don’t have baby showers, like we do in America, but they are so much fun, and a way for all family and friends to gather together, tell baby stories, labor and deliver stories and shower the baby with gifts of all sorts.

My gift was going to be a high chair that Mandy had selected. I went all over New England looking for this special chair, which you can use from birth until the baby is about 4 years old, and NO ONE had them! I finally called and found one in Parsipanny, New Jersey! They said they would ship it to me. Fine, but they couldn’t guarantee it would be here in time for the shower.

Oh dear! Here I am, the mother of the new Mommy, first time Grammy, and no present for my baby! It was really bothering me! One morning I woke and it hit me!

I had saved all the special dresses the girls wore, including the white dress I wore home from the hospital in 1958 (above), and the pink dress Mandy wore home from the hospital in 1976
(below)!

See the close up of the dress in the picture above? That was a newborn Mandy in her dress.

I knew right where the box was, and pulled it out of the attic! I washed the clothes carefully, and pressed them smooth. Then I found pictures of Mandy wearing the dresses, printed those out, pinned each to the dress and told the little stories behind them.

I put these dresses in 4 baby bags, and called them “Bags Full Of Memories”!

Savannah will not need clothes until she is about three years old! She has enough clothing, soaps, blankets, etc to last until then. She also got a Pack N Play (portable bed, playpen, changing table) and yes, the high chair arrived!

So many of our family and friends came. My sister, Melodie, My niece, Jinny, my cousin Janet, and my best friend, Gail.

Mandy was glowing and so happy to see so many loving faces. For me, it was wonderful to see so many people I had not seen in decades.

The Shower

It’s pretty late and I am exhausted, so I will post a couple of pictures and then write about the Baby Shower tomorrow!

OMG

What a busy day! I had not planned for it to be so busy, but it just turned out that way. Between Hubby, the dogs and cleaning, I was really out straight.

You see, last night they predicted that we would be having a frost. Since I have 12 potted patio plants I was worried about them. Would they freeze?

So I carried them all into the green house, closed that us, and went to bed. This morning, I carried them all back outside, watered them and noticed that it had not, in fact, gotten cold enough to freeze!

I set about doing all I needed to do and by 3 PM I was quite literally exhausted. It will not be hard to go to bed early tonight, which is good, as I must get up early tomorrow.

Big day on Saturday. I will write about it on Sunday. Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Fill-Ins

And…here we go!

1. When we think vacation, we think sun and sea!!
2. I would love to head to Cape Cod. That’s where I was born and raised.
3. It’ll be wonderful when Mandy’s baby is born.
4. Paris is a place I always wanted to visit, but haven’t yet.
5. When I’m sad I cry; when I’m happy I cry too, but with a big smile on my face.
6. I love the fact that people are warm and caring. It’s the best thing about my community.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to an early bedtime, tomorrow my plans include taking care of some business and Sunday, I want to sleep and rest all day long!!!!

Happy Blogoversary 7 Years, To Me!

I just looked and realized that Dackel Princess is now 7 years old! How did this happen? The last 7 years have flown by. Shubi is gone now.

She was the original Dackel Princess. Greta the new senior Dackel Princess, is 8 years old.

She has two children that still live with us, Arnie & Anneliese, and life has shifted from looking forward to new puppies to the simple enjoyment of all of our dogs.

I love writing about the dogs, Hubby, Mandy & Matt and soon their little baby. I mean, how blessed am I to have all of this love around me?